Meeting Nanoha
by ringlhach
Summary: Based out of Innortal's Time Loops. This arc covers the introduction of Ranma and, surprise, Nanoha. Rated for language, and occasional violence and teasing.
1. Chapter 1: Meeting Nanoha

Meeting Nanoha

a Ranma 1/2-Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Time Loop

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters herein. _Ranma_ is the property of Takahashi Rumiko, and the _Nanoha_ universe is owned by Seven Arcs and Gakken, depending on when this is happening.

I should add that, in cases where you see lists of synonyms, it's because those are generally intended to be strikethrough text. I'll eventually figure out a way to indicate that; it will be indicated here.

'_thought'_ ":_telepathy_:" "_Emphasis or spell name, as it is being cast_" "\German\" "*Old Norse*"

-Tentative strikethrough, because the site won't let me even hard-code it. You will never see this in speech. Pay attention to where the spaces are; if there is no space between the word previous and the dash, it's not a strikethrough.-

* * *

_Reset_.

Ranma looked around. This was definitely not where he normally reset- no obvious buildings, for one, and it was night-

And then he was run over by a black blob of… something. Barely managing to fight his way free, it- Crawled? Slithered? The motion was almost like an inchworm- off into the brush. He collapsed, and then there was the familiar tingle of transformation magic just before he blacked out.

* * *

Nanoha was worried. If he wasn't Awake, Yuuno would have been calling for help by now… for that matter, even if he _was_, he would have checked in to see whether or not _she _was.

_'He lasted the night that first time_,' she decided after one last check on her Area Search spell. It would wake her up if it found him. '_At least it isn't one of those ones when everyone's hitting on Kyouya_.'

Programs being what they were, of course, the spell completely ignored the fact that there was a new signature where she had told it Yuuno would be. Ferret-shaped though it may be, it wasn't what it was looking for, after all.

* * *

When Ranma woke up, it was light out. It was warm, although not enough for him to be in direct sunlight, and _holy shit where did the giants come from?!_

He fixated on the one off to the left, closing one eye. It was easier to ignore the other two than watch the one in front of him or try to watch both flankers at once. Easier or not, it was _not_ happy about something.

* * *

This was… new. She didn't know yet whether or not that would be a good thing, but she wasn't holding her breath either way. Mentally, she shrugged; it wasn't like she was any stranger to -blasting people until they saw things her way- making new friends.

There was something off about this stand-in, though, as if he was just slightly out of focus and maybe turned at an odd angle to the rest of reality, and there was capital-P Power there, too. She'd have to keep an eye on him… well, after dropping him off at the vet, anyway.

* * *

He conducted a metaphysical inventory, more or less ignoring the vet and her assistants as they closed up for the evening, simply grateful that they spoke his language. There had been talk of neutering earlier, something he would _not_ appreciate when he got back to his normal body, but luckily, this particular vet was a generalist, and had recommended a small-animal-and-exotics specialist on the far side of the city.

He'd been shape-shifted, so magic obviously existed- but not in any form _he_ recognized. It wasn't Jusenkyo, and it wasn't drawn from L-sama, either. When he took a look at the spell holding him to this shape, it looked like some strange twist on Naruto's fuuin-jutsu, but with numbers and equations running all over the place, not just characters. There were the Angels, and there was Lilith. His ki and reiki were fine, although an odd chain had wrapped itself around Gleaming Darkness, but his mana… Since when had that looked like some sort of miniature star? Deciding to ignore the seal on his form for now, he focused on figuring out what was wrong.

It took him a bit to figure out the best position to meditate in, but that wasn't really surprising; he'd never been a rat-thing before- not that he remembered, anyway. His breathing slowed. '_Ground and center_.'

* * *

A sudden spike in power got Nanoha's attention while she was at the dinner table, just after getting the okay from her parents to bring the thing home. It looked like she might be learning more about the stranger sooner than expected.

It still took longer than she would have liked. After clearing the table- it was Miyuki's turn to wash, and Kyouya's to dry- she went up to her room, ostensibly to get ready for her bath. Once inside, she murmured a quick sleep spell, and then slammed up a Barrier. She had a weasel to see.

* * *

Ranma had spent a good part of the evening poking at the thing that was apparently taking the place of his ki. He poked at it a few times, but other than a feeling like he'd poked his pops in the belly, that was about it. Pulling created a much more interesting reaction- like he was unwinding a ball of yarn. Trying to split it down the middle did exactly nothing, as far as he could tell.

He almost missed the sound of the front wall being blown open. Not after the blob that had blown it open jumped at him, though.

* * *

Nanoha arrived to the expected chaos- the monster that was the Jewel Seed construct charging around, chasing the flying, glowing… red-and-black ferret with wings? She blinked. He hadn't had those earlier. Of course, he hadn't been flying or glowing before, either, but that was relatively normal. It wasn't like she couldn't do that herself.

She took a moment to watch what looked like nothing more than a game of tag. She considered the humor in that; the Japanese name for the game was oddly appropriate here.

Wait. Had that weasel just given the monster a red-eye?

* * *

Ranma loved to fly. Okay, having wings to steer with was a little odd, but other than that and the thing chasing him, things were cool. Oh, and the giant person-thing over there, but _that_ was just standing there, at the moment.

Well, it had been, but that was before it had shot a big ole beam o' doom at the critter chasing him and dropped a glowing net on him. It stomped up to him and demanded "What in the world do you think you're doing?" in the oh-so-familiar voice of the Woman Wronged.

"Uh, flying?" He was surprised enough to hear his voice that he almost fell out of the air.

"No, really," she snapped, "I never would have guessed! Who are you, what have you done with Yuuno, and if you can change shapes enough to grow wings, why can't you just change back to your real self instead of trying to trick people by being a cute, harmless, defenseless animal?"

"I am _not_ harmless and _definitely_ not defenseless," he snapped back with a glare. "If there wasn't some kind of lock on my form, I would!" he finished, more-or-less ignoring the fact that about half an hour ago, he hadn't had wings.

Of course, that meant she had to point it out. "Which is why you have wings now."

"I don't know how they got there!"

She gave him a long, slow, unblinking Look and sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll accept that you're an incompetent. I'll even accept that, despite that, you've polymorphed _twice_, apparently on some strange kind of instinct. But I won't accept that you don't know how to do magic!"

"I know how to do magic," he protested, "but this system doesn't make any sense!"

"No sense? It's all higher math and energy-based physics! How can it not make sense?!"

"If it's physics, it's science, moron!"

"I'm not the one who doesn't know what he's doing!"

"If it's magic, where the hell are the potions and incantations?!"

"The formula _is_ the incantation! Haven't you used a magic circle before?! Why the hell would you need potions?"

This went on for another fifteen minutes before the ferret abruptly burst into humanity. "Well, that was weird. Felt almost like an Animagus change."

"An aniwhat?"

"First you don't know what potions are, and then you don't know what Animagi are? Damn, what sort of wizard are you?"

"You might know if you ANSWERED THE DAMN QUESTION!" raged the woman he now knew to be a brunette, picking him up by the surcoat and shaking him like a ragdoll.

"PuUUhUUht mEEee dOOwn, yoUU daAMn TOmboy!" Ranma spat out through the shaking, and immediately found out why taking what he would later learn was a "Divine Buster" to the chest at point-blank range without some kind of magical protection was a bad idea. Not bad enough to keep him from standing back up, though.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"I'm not a tomboy!"

"Could'a fooled me! If someone with your temper ain't a tomboy, I'm a weasel!" BAMF!

When the cloud cleared, the girl stared at the irritable-looking ferret. "You know, you'd think I'd know better by now."

* * *

Almost absently, Nanoha had pulled Raising Heart's necklace off of Ranma's neck, set it up, and sucked up the Jewel Seed. Right now, the Jewel Seeds were not a problem- well, okay, they were, but it was really more of an annoyance at this point. She smiled to herself; she'd gotten Raising Heart to start using them like semi-permanent cartridges a hundred or so Loops back. The smile earned an odd look from the ferret dangling at arm's-length, who had yet to figure out just what the heck had turned him back into his present shape.

They had gotten home in time for her to take her bath without any extra time seeming to appear between the sleep spell and the Barrier. She brought Raising Heart with her, but made a point of leaving the new kid back in her room. After all, he would not be able to hurt anything there without hands.

She had obviously never spent any significant time around real ferrets, she decided. It was either that, or he was a lot more trouble than Yuuno was. Maybe both.

Somehow, he had managed to scorch her carpet, put cracks in the windowpane and ended up dangling from her ceiling lamp. All these things were extremely easy to deal with, although it did bring up the question of how he'd managed it without getting her family's attention.

Unfortunately, her bed was _also_ stuck to the ceiling, without any sign of how it had gotten there- trace magic, sure, but none holding it up or to the ceiling. She was just lucky that she hadn't had time to build up any significant amounts of… toys there, the Loop having started yesterday and most of her collection still in storage. Barely visible through the scorching, there were chalk marks on her carpet.

She looked up at the ferret on the ceiling. "What in the world were you trying to do?"

* * *

"So let me get this straight. We're repeating the same time period, over and over again, because of some sort of cosmic _computer glitch?_" Nanoha asked incredulously some time later. "And you're dating one of the… people… responsible for getting it fixed?"

"Pretty much. I'm kinda surprised I'm the one telling you about this. One of them usually shows up." The ferret sighed. "And I'm like this because your missing friend, at this point in the Loop, is an overgrown rat?"

"Yes, but he's never had the, ah, problem with his transformation that you seem to."

"Transformation magic hates me. End of story."

A third figure appeared, sprouting into what almost looked like a mature version of Agito and lightening the ferret's fur considerably. "But you're so cute like this!"

"Dammit, Lilith, are you the one doing this?!"

"Nope. Doesn't mean I'm not going to laugh at it, though."

Nanoha curiously poked at the figure, only to have her finger slapped away. "Hands off, lady. I say who touches me, and you're not on that list."

"That's mean," she pouted.

Ranma sighed. "Go back to sleep, Lilith. Don't have time to play right now." After a quick pout that got her absolutely nowhere, she did as directed, but not without a parting shot.

"Well, if you say so, Ranma, but you're going to owe me." The ferret visibly cringed at the thought.

Nanoha tilted her head. "Why's your Device acting like that?"

"My what?"

"Device. You know, a tool that amplifies your magical power? Makes it easier to use, too."

"Lilith's a succubus. She eats power, not amplify it. Why would a tool look like a person, anyway?"

"Some of them are weird like that. Most of those are really, really old. Why would you leave something that eats your soul alive in you?"

"She's a limiter. Without her and some other things eating up power, I'd become a god, and that'd destroy my universe. Believe me, it ain't all fun and games."

The brunette blinked. "You don't look like you'd need a limiter."

"I don't normally look like a rodent, either," he dryly pointed out. "Will you tell me how to undo this now?"

"Nope."

"Whadda ya mean-" the ferret yelled before remembering that there were people around that didn't accept talking animals as status quo. "Whadda ya mean _no_?" he finished more quietly.

"Do you know how to turn back into a ferret?" The boy blinked at the question, and Nanoha sighed. "What do you think my parents are going to do if a boy suddenly shows up, in my room, at this time of night?" _That_ got her point across. "Besides, you need to learn the basics so you can do stuff without, you know, _detonating my room_."

The ferret scratched one of his cheeks. "Eh, it's no biggie. I'll just-"

"No!" She swatted at him, not expecting him to reappear on top of her head. "Don't you _dare_ do anything until you know how without blowing things up!"

"Fine," he groused, settling in between her pigtails. "I _was_ going to say 'go on a training trip,' but I'll just watch you do it."

"And just where were you going to go?"

"That park's pretty big…"

"Not big enough for people not to notice when you _set stuff on fire_. Besides, unshielded magic wreaks havoc on the environment, and I am _not_ going to just let the first new male I've seen in centuries off himself before I get him in the sack, and I'll be _damned_ if I sleep with a ferret!"

Cue disturbed stare. "… You have problems, you know that, right?"

"You know how many boys I meet that stick around long enough to be a feature in the course of a normal Loop?! _Eleven!_ I'm related to two of them, and one's a fat asshole! I like girls just fine, but there's more to life than a steady diet of yuri!"

"Ooh, she sounds fun, Ranma," purred Lilith from… somewhere. "I _like_ this one."

"… Okay. Now I'm worried," the shape-shifter admitted.

* * *

"Your Monster of the Week is a _dog_?!" Ranma snorted, looking at the construct. "Well, I've seen worse. At least it's not a tree or something." Nanoha fidgeted, and the ferret sighed. "Let's get this over with so you can, you know, actually _teach me something_." He hopped down off her shoulder and took up a position two paces in front of her.

* * *

The creature that thought of itself as "Good Dog" was confused. The Voice was saying "threat-hurt-kill-threat" about the young food-giver female, but on the other hand, there was this furry, moving Thing that made sounds between them.

It took almost two seconds for Good Dog to make its decision. You can only change a creature so much without getting rid of the base completely, after all.

It bounded forward.

* * *

Nanoha snapped Raising Heart and her Barrier Jacket into being when the dog-thing started to move and braced for impact. When a few seconds passed and nothing happened, she opened an eye to see it chasing Ranma around the temple courtyard. Torii, the racks of ema, the offertory box… Nothing was safe.

"Dammit, stop chasing me! I'm not a squeaky toy!" Ranma yelled.

Nanoha snorted. The snort turned into a giggle, and the giggle into full-fledged laughter.

Glaring at the girl, Ranma muttered, "Screw this" and sidestepped the latest charge, biting the dog's tail as it slammed into the torii.

The dog yelped and spun, waving Ranma around as it tried to get at him. Unfortunately for him, the dog's shape was less than permanent, and as it spun, its tail lengthened. After some thirty revolutions, it had grown enough so that the dog was able to catch him and shake him. As Nanoha looked on, horrified, it tossed him up into the air. Ranma's footing caught on- something; she did not sense any magic- and he snarled, "You want me? Well, fine!" He threw himself back the way he came, straight down the dog's throat.

Nanoha blinked. "… And what, exactly, was the point of that?" She was confused enough to not notice the cross-eyed look on the dog's face and the wriggling in its throat that slowly made its way down to its stomach. "Well, I'd better get rid of it now," she sighed. "Guess I won't be teaching him after all." She began focusing energy for a low-level magical blast.

And then, the dog exploded, and a boy rose from the remains, a gleaming jewel in his hand.

"Ew. I'm covered in demon dog."

* * *

Ranma blinked and tried to figure out why Nanoha was laying into him. Maybe force-feeding himself to a construct wasn't the best idea, but it wasn't like it was going to take permanent harm just from him ripping his way out of what passed for its guts… was it?

He shot a quick look its way. No, it would be fine- it was pulling itself back together now, more slowly than he would have expected, but it hadn't eaten any of his ki, chakra, or magic, so it might take a bit.

On the other hand, he wasn't about to let it have the stone he'd found in its belly back, either. He wanted to take a good, long look at the thing. It was giving off more power than he liked. He absently teased green, blue, and white threads loose from the beacon at his center, wrapped them around the idea "get better," and tossed the ball in its direction before pausing the ranting brunette with "Aren't you supposed to be doing something about that?"

She stopped mid-syllable, looked over to where the distressed, possessed dog was literally pulling itself back together, and ignored it. "And what would you have done if you died for real?!"

"Probably got laughed at and then ended up an out-of-work god."

"Exactly! And- wait, hold on. What?"

Ranma hung his head. "I keep forgetting that you don't know these things. You can only gain so much power without gaining extra dimensions. What most of us think of as 'gods' are people… it's just that instead of the four or five- I can never remember which- we have, they have ten or more. _All at the same time_. If an Anchor becomes a god, though, it rips the middle out of their universe, and it collapses."

"So, your girlfriend, Skald-"

"Skuld."

"Whatever. She's one of these goddesses?"

"Yep. I'd be careful about her name, though. She doesn't much like it when people mess it up."

"Meh. What's she going to do about it?" Thunder rolled, the Universe flickered, and Ranma winced in sympathy.

"I want to go on record pointing out that I didn't say that," he announced to their surroundings and the Universe in general. "I even made a point of warning her against something like that." The universe flickered again- pink and red, this time. "Thank you." To Nanoha, "You _really_ ought to know better by now. The dog's getting up, by the way."

The third-grader spun, waved Raising Heart in the general direction of the shakily-standing dog and snapped, "Seal." The dog pulsed and dissolved into dust, and the jewel in Ranma's fist flashed. "You aren't getting out of this, buster," she snapped at what was now a ferret with a shiny blue collar.

* * *

Back in her room, Nanoha held her head and whined, "My head hurts."

The ferret snorted. "Suck it up. You haven't even been to Hogwarts or Eiken yet."

"Eh? Hogwarts? Eiken?"

"Hogwarts is a seven-year wizard school loop. Eiken… Let's just say you don't want to go to Eiken. Either you'd end up as a guy or you'd have major back problems."

"Eh? Back problems…? Wait. I can end up as a _guy_ in some Loops?"

He shot her a surprised look. "You mean you haven't yet?"

"No!"

He considered that and, once again defying biology, shrugged. "You know, usually, someone does something stupid to end the world by now. Your time will come."

"What does ending the world have to do with it?"

"Nuh-uh. Ain't going there. Not with a goddamn Armoire of Invincibility. Find out sometime when I'm _not_ in your Loop." '_Note to self: Keep a minder on her at all times_.' A pause. '_And not one in human form_.' "So, anyway. You're supposed to be teaching me, right?"

"Fine…"

* * *

"You know, when I said that at least the enemy wasn't a tree, it didn't mean that you had to go and find one."

* * *

It was actually kind of depressing when she thought about how fast Ranma was learning magic- _just from watching her_. She'd have liked to say that it was her talent as a teacher- and she had quite a bit; she had made a job out of it for centuries now- but _nobody_ should learn that much that fast, and when she asked just how he'd managed, all he'd say was "practice." It was just not fair! On top of that, her one and only attempt at actually teaching him had gone so... _badly_… that she was still surprised the family house stood.

Despite this, Ranma had kept to the ferret shape for the most part up until now… well, mostly because he had trouble not randomly changing shapes at the worst possible times. Every time he got worked up about something, he changed, which had made for some _very_ awkward situations. Maybe Arf could help?

At the moment, they were dealing with a giant cat. Well, Ranma was; she was sitting back, offering pointers, and laughing when he got swa- _BZZAP!_

"Geez, Nanoha, don't you normally take care of that before I get here?" asked Fate, settling in next to her after a quick hug.

"New guy," she told her co-anchor. "What took you so long?"

"Had to beat down Precia again," Fate replied, collecting the Jewel Seed. "I think she might be Awake this time. He cute?"

"When he's not a ferret." She grinned at the inquisitive look. "He's taking Yuuno's role this time around, and has trouble not changing shapes when he gets worked up about something. No idea why, though; I'm starting to get a little worried about it. If this keeps up, I'll _never_ get any from him. Could you ask Arf to take a look?"

"Could you maybe _not_ talk about me like I'm not here?" the boy groused from the ground, smoldering.

"Only if you share. She's not Awake this time, though," Fate told her friend, completely ignoring him.

"Of course I'd share! I'd never be that mean to you," Nanoha protested. An irritated Ranma bursting into a Technicolor aura got their attention, though.

"I said, don't talk about me like I'm not here!" he snapped. It might have been a little more impressive if he had been able to remain human, though.

Fate blinked. "I think I see what you mean." She considered that briefly. "Could it be a control issue?" The ambient temperature suddenly started dropping.

"I don't think so." The brunette blinked at the sudden change in the weather as a sudden rainstorm turned to freezing rain.

"Dammit, don't you people listen?!" the flying ferret shouted.

"Of course we do," Nanoha told him. "Now be quiet and let the adults talk."

Fate winced. Insulting an unknown was _never_ a good idea.

"Adults? Adults?! You think that you've been around for a measly few hundred Loops, and _that_ makes you adults?!" The ferret suddenly turned into an eight-winged humanoid- six feathered, one leathery. Fate whistled. You didn't see things like _that_ often. Really, the only people who regularly showed up with wings were Hayate and Signum when they Unisoned with Rein or Agito. Of course, she _never_ got to see a ferret-furry; Yuuno had flat-out refused every time she asked.

"_Measly?_ Four hundred seventy six Loops are _not_ measly!" Nahoha objected.

"They are when you've been doing it for hundreds of thousands more than when you lost count, moron!" _That_ earned a quick period of silence. Well, that and the fact that they had to put up a shield against the pebble-sized hail. Oddly, it didn't seem to strike the boy. "Didn't you _think_ when I said I'd had practice picking up new abilities?!"

"You just said you'd had practice," Nanoha said weakly.

"_After _I'd already told you that I'd been in other universes before!"

"Um, excuse me," Fate tried to interject.

"Apparently, you don't think at all!"

"I think plenty!"

"Excuse me," Fate said. Maybe louder would get their attention?

"Sure don't look that way!"

"Excuse me! Please stop it!" She was immediately the focus of two _very_ angry stares. "Uh, people are staring…"

The other two blinked. Sure enough, there were Arisa and Suzuka. "Um, hi?"

* * *

"Didn't you say that they'd eventually find out anyway?" Ranma asked, confused. "What's the big deal?"

"Yeah, in _six months_, and that's _supposed_ to be after we deal with Rein's crazy problem," Nanoha said sourly.

Once again spiting his biology, the ferret shrugged. "Not like it's all that much in the big scheme of things. Rein… That's the sentient golem-gadget-thing, right?"

"Rein's a Unison Device, not a 'golem-gadget-thing,'" the brunette snapped. "There's a difference! And of course them knowing this early is a big thing! They think it's all fighting magical monsters and that nobody gets hurt now!"

"If it's that big of a deal, just erase their memories."

"Nanoha," Fate quietly interjected, "for the most part, it _is_ all fighting magical monsters. It's just that sometimes, the monsters happen to be human." She considered that. "Or robots."

The sometimes-ferret blinked. "You have robots?"

"Magically created, powered, and animated pieces of technology, yes."

"More golems. Gotcha." He rubbed his head. "Harry would have a field day with you guys. So would Shinji."

"Harry? Shinji?"

"Anchors. You'll meet 'em eventually. Harry's from Hogwarts," he added, as if it were significant. All he got were blank stares. "You'll understand eventually. Unless you're lucky. And since I'm around and _you_ insulted Skuld, that ain't likely."

"Who's Skuld?" Fate asked

"Girlfriend, alleged goddess, and one of the QA people trying to fix the damn computer that runs everything and is causing this mess," Nanoha told her.

The universe flickered again, and Ranma, human after the flicker, hung his head and groaned, "Why me?"

Fate paused. "Did anyone else see that?"

"See what?"

"Everything going grey for a second."

"It's been doing that a lot lately. I'm not that worried about it, though; nothing's happened yet."

"Um, Nanoha?"

"Oh, come on. What could possibly happen? It's not like she really exists."

"And then she had to go and say _that_!" Ranma cried, manly, manly tears rolling down his face.

* * *

"Let's see. Nanoha and Fate are beating down Fate's mom, and Arf is passed out at Arisa's house." Ranma considered that. "They said that there would be another Jewel Seed in the middle of the city, and that it wasn't usually guarded…"

He was thankful that this "transformation spell" worked mostly similar to Arf's transformation ability- that is, it was an effort of will. Most of the time, anyway; he was stuck one way or another most of the time once in a while. Of course, it also made it that much less likely for the various females to seduce him. Between appearing to be nine years old and being a ferret most of the time, most of the women just cuddled him instead.

Cuddling, in and of itself, wasn't bad. It was what the cuddling led to- or from, depending on the situation- that tended to cause him problems. Minor things, like dehydration, exhaustion, and broken hips or ribs. Nothing major. He hadn't died from sex -since Skuld's last vacation- for a long time, after all.

He'd held on to that Jewel Seed since the fight with the dog-thing; having a magical artifact around his neck was somewhat… unnerving, when you weren't sure what it did. Recovering this one, though, might clear things up a bit. There was some sort of resonance there- not exactly the "red string" girls and the bad romance novels Lina and Nabiki read spoke about, but something similar. It was like the things called each other.

He knew better than to think it was impossible, though. He'd been around too long. Everything was possible somewhere, unfortunately. People like the Choushin _made_ places just to make sure that certain things would be possible.

"Let's see… where is it?" Nanoha's search spell resembled balls of light, and were actively looking for things. His, though, was more passive, and with the right way of looking, seemed more like a spider's web. It involved plugging into the local Dragon Line equivalent; not always a good idea, but there were ups and downs to both ways of doing things. Of course, if things stayed still, they usually did not show up- but the world almost always knew something. It didn't always want to tell you, though, and even when it did, it didn't always make a whole lot of sense. It perceived things in a way that nothing human-shaped ever did. Some things just did not translate.

Concentrations of energy, though- figuring out that was easy enough. Depending on the energy, it could feel sick, energized, or any of a half-dozen other sensations. The Jewel Seeds, for whatever reason, tingled, like a numb limb that was just waking up, an easily recognized hole in the odd, off-balance sensation that usually denoted "city."

Ferret or not, it only took him a few minutes to reach the area. That was when things started to get complicated; the web-spell was less than specific, when its target was motionless. "Now for the barrier thing…" He concentrated, pulling thread after thread of magic out of his center and tying it into the pattern he remembered Nanoha making. Silently blessing an eidetic memory, he checked it over one last time. "That should do it," he grunted, and pushed it out, filling it with the idea of "_other_" to stretch it out over three or four city blocks.

The barrier zone made finding energy peaks that much simpler; he was able to rely on his own senses, but he didn't have access to the Dragon Lines here. Still, this would be interesting.

He carefully approached the Jewel Seed, taking time to return allow both himself and the Jewel Seed he carried to resume their natural forms. He took a deep breath, and touched his to the other one. The resonance grew exponentially… and then, the barrier-space began twisting.

"This can't be good." True to form, the barrier went up in a pillar of coherent magic.

* * *

He had half-expected to wake up on the street, in a crater with two Jewel Seeds, possibly with Nanoha and Fate trying to figure out what he had done.

The other half expected to wake up to a traffic sign to the back of his head, so waking up in human form on some sort of hospital bed was unexpected. Especially with a small boy in an overcoat was trying to pull a Gendo on him from across his nightstand.

"You…" he growled, "what did you do to make everyone forget? And what did you do to my sister?"

Ranma blinked. "Sister?" He hadn't had sex with anyone yet this Loop, so it couldn't be _that_.

"Yes! My sister! Fate! Blonde lady, uses an Intelligent Device named Bardiche!"

Ranma looked at him, nonplussed. "She's probably with Nanoha."

The boy seized on that. "Nanoha's here too? She'll know what's going on!" Under his breath, he murmured "Amy" and stalked out the door, leaving Ranma blinking.

"Whelp," he grunted, "time to get back down there… Hey, where did my Jewel Seeds go?" He stood and began searching the room. As he made it to the door, he was abruptly pulled back by a tether on his neck. "Hey! Why am I tied up?" He pulled on the energy-cord. "Hey! I'm not some kind of pet!"

* * *

"Dammit, why won't you break?!"

* * *

"Hm, is it tied to a collar or something? Maybe if I change shape…"

* * *

When the boy Ranma would later come to know as "Chrono" returned, it was to find a ferret, suspended upside down three and a half feet from the floor. Unsurprisingly, it earned him some odd looks. Well, two, anyway. Nanoha and Fate were too busy trying not to laugh; Nanoha just was not trying very hard.

"Um, kid," Arf said as she poked at the shapeshifted boy, "how the hell did you manage this?"

"Don' wanna," sulked the ferret.

"Oh, come on," she sighed. "It's not like you were on a tether or anything to begin with, right? That's not part of TSAB procedure, after all." Fortunately for Chrono, Arf was in the line of sight between the two boys, and Fate and Nanoha were too busy laughing to spot the suddenly guilty look on the TSAB enforcer's face.

"Don' wanna- hold up. Whadda ya mean it's not part of standard procedure?"

"I mean that when the TSAB takes a prisoner, they put restrain them in the brig under a Bind, not wrap them like a ball of yarn in the ship's infirmary."

"That so." Chrono maneuvered to keep someone between himself and Ranma.

"It is," Fate confirmed, having finally regaining control of her giggles.

"So… When do you start tying patients to walls?"

"You don't," Fate assured him.

Chrono coughed into a fist. "Can we please go convince the Captain that I'm not crazy now?"

"Sure," cheered Nanoha, now distracted from her fit. "Let's go say hi to Admiral Lindy!"

"Um, excuse me," Fate said to the retreating backs of the group, "what about-"

"C'mon, Fate! You want to see your mom again, right?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Well, come on, then!"

Fate offered a quick, apologetic bow to the ferret in bondage, and set off after her friends and family. The last Ranma heard of them was a fading "I thought your mother was Lady Precia?" from Arf.

"What about me?" he murmured weakly, and then sighed. "Fuck it. I'll just kawarimi my way out. There's gotta be a pen I can use here somewhere."


	2. Chapter 2: A's

Meeting Nanoha

a Ranma 1/2-Nanoha Time Loop

The DISCLAIMER and text key are at the beginning of the first chapter. If you haven't read that, then you probably shouldn't be reading this.

* * *

The last six months or so had been memorable, Ranma had to admit as he looked out into the "space between dimensions" the TSAB used to get around. Not _really_ the space between dimensions- as he understood it, you could potentially get to other Loops that way, and the TSAB had not pulled that off yet. Either the physics changed sufficiently or they had a sea of dimensions limited to strictly within their Loop... he was far from sure; he would have to ask one of the Norns.

He had yet to find a way to call them here, and was unsure if that was a good thing. On one hand, Chrono and Fate had assured him that it worked and was a variant on movement magic, something he was currently experimenting with. On the other hand, they both sucked at it. Chrono, it seemed, had focused almost exclusively on combat magic, and Fate was similar… well, up until she started looping, anyway. Since then, she had learned that summoning required a fine degree of control… unless you also wanted to either summon everything within a three-mile radius of whatever it was you were summoning or _just_ that thing and not, for example, their clothes.

* * *

"So, if I want to summon someone, I have to form the circle, define the parameters, and then pull?"

"It's a little more complicated," Fate tried to explain, but Ranma wasn't listening.

"Okay, then. Let's see… circle, Amy, here, magic," Ranma mumbled.

Sure enough, there Amy was. It was just that she was completely naked and facing away from him, toward his other instructor- Chrono. Unsurprisingly, she screamed bloody murder. "You PERVERT!"

* * *

'_Ah, memories_,' Ranma mused as he stifled a satisfied grin. Still, that had not quite made up for leaving him tethered to the wall, and then again when he was quite literally all tied up. He was working on that.

The now-familiar cry of the terminally embarrassed female rang through the ship, accompanied by a ringing _slap_. The risk he had taken working a complicated sensory and space-bending spell on Chrono's and Amy's individual private bathroom doors had been more than worth it. Chrono was now destined to use Amy's bathroom- but only when she was in it. That, and then erasing the magical signature of the combined spells, had been the hard part. Setting up power reserves that drew from their surroundings was hardly difficult.

He had the Jewel Seeds as examples, after all.

The way he did things seemed to blow the minds of most of the TSAB's scientists. He wasn't a Device- who had heard of a Device having a Device, after all?- and he had a pure human form, so between that and the records for his existence this Loop, they could not classify him as a familiar, either. One of them, a man with purple hair and golden eyes, had given off bad vibes. Except for that one, they had all decided that he was just a really strange human that spent most of his time in an animal form for some reason none of them understood. That one- what was his name? Jay? Gel? J-_something_, anyway- seemed convinced that he was the perfect research subject; luckily, the scientist was back on Mid, not here en route to Earth.

"Think she'll be glad to see us?" he asked the blonde on whose shoulder he perched.

"Probably," she agreed. "She'll be playing with Vita when we get there, but Signum, Shamal, and Zafira shouldn't be too far away."

"They're the book-golem people, right?"

"They're not golems," Fate sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. For some reason, he called every created intelligence that. It annoyed Arf and Bardiche, but they had yet to break him of the habit. Mostly because unless he was teaching them something, he treated them like people. It was quite a change for both of them- Arf because she was a familiar and generally regarded as being something along the lines of a pet; Bardiche, as an Intelligent Device, was a special type of tool.

It made a nice change, and was made more interesting in that Bardiche was actually learning new things.

Now, if only the boy could get the shape-change down the rest of the way…

* * *

For the first time in a very, very long time, Nanoha was actually worried. Vita was a lot stronger than she should have been, given that she was not Awake, and was actually putting up an excellent fight. Not good enough, of course, but-

That train of thought was abruptly cut off as she was slammed through yet another building. Okay, maybe the redhead _was_ putting up a good enough fight, she dazedly thought, pulling herself out of the wreckage of an office cubicle.

Pulling herself back together, she threw together a swarm of Divine Shooter variable bullets. Individually, none of them would do much damage- but on the other hand, some of them _would_ get through- if only on the principles that she couldn't block all of them and that the second shell would probably make it _smack_.

Of course, that would only work if she could keep the bullets going after their target, something she couldn't do if the damn target kept connecting with that damn mallet! How the hell was she doing that? It was like she had gotten lessons somewhere!

* * *

A raven-haired goddess, watching a window on her terminal, laughed. "You just wait! Graf Eisen Mk II will show you why you don't mess with me!" She grinned crazily. "You just keep away from my Ranma!"

* * *

Another hit from the odd-looking Graf Eisen and Nanoha was smashed back into the building, though she made another hole to do so, ending up halfway through a concrete wall. How had the girl gotten this strong? She was right up there with how she hit toward the end of the Loops! Nanoha shakily aimed Raising Heart as the other girl stalked up to the hole in the brickwork.

The redhead stared at her stonily, hammer rising- and then dropping.

"_Power be the rod and shield/ Protect those I ward!/ Beneath my wings, preserve them!/ Shelter them! Guardian's Breath!_" Nanoha was wrapped in a feathery, translucent red-and-black cocoon, and Fate had caught Graf Eisen on Bardiche's haft.

"Careful," the brunette wheezed, "she's stronger than normal."

"You okay?" asked Ranma from where he stood next to her, in almost-human form, setting the wings aside.

"I will be," she replied, pulling herself up on the remains of the wall as Fate forced the ponytailed redhead outside.

"Stay put," Ranma ordered. "Something's up. There's four other people here, and one of 'em's familiar. I need to figure out who it is."

"But I-"

"You're hurt, I can't heal other people for shit, there's some sort of space-trap on this place, and there's someone I know kicking around here. How many people in this universe do I know, again? I need to find whoever it is and figure out what they're doing, and I can't do that if I have to sit on you to get you to stay here! If you have to do something, figure out a way to get control of the barrier."

"I already know how to do that!"

"Then stop trying to argue with me and do it already!"

Nanoha threw a glare that Ranma completely ignored as he stalked back outside. "Jerk," she muttered and stomped to the hole to the outside. "Raising Heart, are you good to do a Starlight Breaker?"

"Good to go," the Device responded, seemingly ignoring its battered condition.

"Great! Let's give it everything we've got! We'll show him!"

The seal formed, and light started to collect in front of her. "Count Twenty," the staff announced, beginning a slow countdown.

* * *

"Nanoha's right," Fate said to herself. "She is a lot stronger than normal. Now for..." Sonic Move took her back and to the side a few paces, and Signum shot through the space she had vacated. "Ranma, can you put down Vita without doing anything permanent to her?"

"Depends on how long I can keep in this form," the boy responded. "You going to go fight pinky there?"

"Yes," she replied. "It's kind of a tradition, and I need to figure out if she's Awake or not. Is Nanoha-"

"What are you talking about, awake?" the hammer-girl snarled, jetting forward and bringing Graf Eisen around for a body-blow. "She's right there, stupid!"

There was a poofing sound and space _bent_. Ranma stood between them, twisting over the hammer-stroke… but he was behind her, too? "Eh?" Fate blinked.

"Trick from another Loop," the one behind her told her. "Nanoha's fine, says she's going to do something about the cage. Don't you have a fight to get to? Move it!"

The one in front of her was focused on the fight with Vita, leaving a very confused Fate open to a sweeping overhand strike from Signum. She avoided it by just enough to avoid an incapacitating wound, but still took a shallow cut on her arm. "Pay attention!" the pigtailed boy berated her before another two popped into being and the three jetted off, cutting the barrier-space into thirds.

"I have got to get him to teach me that," she murmured before turning her attention back to her once-and-future friend.

* * *

With Arf dealing with the other dog-golem-thing, that left two Ranmas to figure out where familiar presence was coming from. Two would let him figure it out that much faster- and get a better fix. At least it would if it was coming from inside the barrier. If it was outside... Who knew?

The three, after arriving at the edges of the barrier, immersed themselves in the Dragon Lines and started looking for things pulling on the local energy web. Nanoha, his main self, Fate, the hammer-swinging construct and the one with the sword were all easy enough to find; the same went with Fate and the dog, although to a much lesser degree.

There was a fourth tug on the web, somewhere near the center, although much lesser than the others- like someone was trying to pull their way out. They had no clue who could be, though, so as each of them took note of it, they set it aside as something to look at later.

There it was- about halfway between the southwest one and the one off to the north- and it was-

The web ripped.

* * *

Ranma clutched his head as three sets of memories impacted him at once. It threw him just long enough so that his opponent landed a heavy, rocket-boosted hit on his ribcage, sending him wheeling head-over-heels through another three buildings. '_Guess ignoring that one was a Bad Idea_,' he decided as he pieced the memories together to the accompaniment of a piercing scream. '_Who... Nanoha?_' he wondered as a giant pink beam lashed out against the trap, stretching it like a balloon. Like a balloon, it burst, and the energy streamed out into the night. It was the last thing he saw for quite a while, the combined trauma of the web shredding and the pain in his chest, back and head overwhelming him.

* * *

"Are they going to be okay?" Chrono murmured to Fate, where she sat between the two beds in _Asura_'s infirmary.

"Nanoha will be fine; her linker core is still there, so it's really just a severe case of magical exhaustion. Ranma, though... Physically, he's got a few cracked ribs and a concussion. There's no reason for him to still be out like this, unless the concussion is a lot worse than they think."

The magical diagnostic tools, they had found during their trip to Mid, often produced wildly divergent and only occasionally accurate readings on the unconscious boy. One had said he was a demon; another declared him a god, three announced he was definitely a ferret, and two pronounced him human. All using the same sensors, and frequently switching between them.

That was setting aside the ones that he was a guppy or a cat. Oddly enough, when the screen displayed "cat," it had trouble deciding whether or not he was a _dead_ cat. Since he was human for all of the readings, the more unusual responses had been discarded.

One had briefly displayed "RUN GOJIIRA AIEE-!" and refused to work since.

Medical was still trying to figure out what a "Gojiira" was and why they should run from it.

Nanoha stirred weakly, moaning. Cracking an eye, she grumbled, "What hit me?"

"Shamal," her blonde friend told her.

"Again? She hasn't done that in forever."

"Not since you stopped needing help to put Vita down right away," Fate confirmed. "Do you have any idea why she's so much stronger now?"

"Graf Eisen looked a little different, but that's about it. How's Raising Heart?"

"Getting its normal upgrades. It should be done in a day or so."

Chrono glanced between them, highly confused. He had thought Vita was always strong against a Mid-type mage; it was one of the Belka-type's strengths, after all.

"Hey, where's Ranma?" Nanoha suddenly asked. "I'm going to kick his butt for letting this happen."

"I don't think you need to, Nanoha," Chrono told her.

"I don't? Why not?"

"He hasn't woken up yet."

"Eh?"

"Not completely true, but not really false, either," a new voice cut in. "Don't think I've been awake for more than a few minutes yet," Ranma continued, stepping into Nanoha's line of sight. "Magic backlash hurts. Useful trick, though, Shadow Clone."

"Eh?" Fate squawked, spinning to check Ranma's bed... where he still lay unconscious. "How... Oh, is this that trick from the fight?"

"Yep. Shadow Clone Jutsu. Lets you make more of yourself from chakra. Biggest thing, though, is that you get its memories when it dispels."

"So..." Nanoha mused, a perverted grin sneaking its way onto her face, "you can make more of you?" She shot a look at Fate, who blushed. Oh, yes, this had _possibilities_!

"Not nearly as many as Naruto can, but I can keep five or ten going most of the time. I'm just glad clones don't have magic."

"Naruto?" asked the even more confused Chrono, completely missing the bit about magic.

"Another Anchor," the boy said.

"Anchor?"

"Later," Fate sighed, finally overcoming her blushing fit. "Did you figure out who you were sensing?"

"Yeah, but you need to wait for me to wake up before doing anything."

They looked at him like he was an idiot, and he rubbed a hand against his forehead. "Y'know something? This language ain't set up to be in two places at once."

Sighing, he told them, "Look. If you go without me, she'll probably blast you on principle. If you go with me like this, she'll probably blast you anyway."

"And if the normal you goes?"

"Oh, I'm screwed any way you put it," the clone admitted. "You won't get me out of that. You probably won't, though."

"What, are we not good enough?" the brunette flared.

Ranma looked at her like she was a moron. "What are you talking about?"

"You just said she was going to screw you!"

He stared for a moment. "... What do you think I'm talking about?"

"Sex! That's all boys your age ever think about, isn't it?"

Chrono flushed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The Ranma-clone, on the other hand, merely sighed and considered bashing his head against the bulkhead until she made sense. Deciding that he would disperse first, he settled for a glare. "I said I was going to _be_ screwed. As in, you know, _screwed over_?" He paused for a second. "That second one is also a possibility, but unless she ain't been gettin' any in the last few Loops, it ain't gonna happen."

* * *

A wheelchair-bound girl in a library back on Nanoha's Earth sneezed.

* * *

Once they knew what was wrong with him, treating Ranma had been fairly easy- magical backlash was fairly common in beginning mages, after all... just not to this degree. Having someone put into a four-day coma, between the backlash and the lack of treatment, was a little unusual, brain-melting combat magic aside.

The boy simply _refused_ to tell them about their friend, simply repeating that he would take care of it. He did say, however, that since this was their first Fused Loop, it would probably be someone whose personality was fairly close to "their" Hayate.

Whatever that was. They'd made a point of telling him that he was almost nothing like Yuuno. He had simply shrugged and said, "You can't win them all," and then gone on as if they had not said anything.

Nanoha was a little irritated. So were Fate and Chrono, but Chrono was still more confused than anything and Fate, unlike Nanoha, did not normally respond to irritation by trying to either blow or sex it up. Fate, currently the target of Nanoha's… aggression, was more than a little disturbed by the situation. Usually, the brunette was completely focused on whatever was bugging her- so was Nanoha bugging _her_?

"Because I can't find him," Nanoha irritably snapped, causing Fate to realize she had said that last thought out loud. Whoops.

"Come on," Ranma said from behind the brunette, triggering a surprised one-eighty, "do you really think I'm just going to let you have sex with me for no reason?"

"Yes!" Nanoha declared and tackled… a puff of smoke? "Eh?"

Her blonde friend made good use of the distraction to get the hell out of Dodge.

* * *

Ranma snorted. "Is she always like that?" he asked Chrono, standing next to him at the window.

"Is who like what?"

"Is Nanoha always that clingy?"

The dark-haired mage shot him a cold glare.

"Right, haven't been Awake long enough to know. Never mind."

"... When are you going to tell us about whoever's the master of the Book of Darkness?"

"Probably sometime after we get there and she says whether or not I can. She's really picky about the oddest things, sometimes. Good cook, though."

"So... you're leading us into what's probably going to end up as a hostile situation and leaving us with whatever we already know, despite probably knowing quite a bit more than we do... just so you don't piss someone off?"

The pigtailed Anchor considered that. "Pretty much, yeah."

"... How often do people tell you you're an asshole?"

"At least three or four times a day," Ranma admitted. "It's all good, though."

"It's... it's... it's all good! I can't believe you're letting us go into a situation where we're going to get our asses kicked without telling us anything!" Chrono shouted.

"Hey, keep it down," Ranma shushed him. "The norms will hear you!"

"Norms? Every fucking body on this ship is a mage! There's no a norm within five hundred miles! And you want me to _not bother the fucking norms!_"

The other boy coughed lightly into a fist. "I, ah, meant in the temporal sense," he said, gesturing at the now-staring passers-by.

The TSAB enforcer stared at him for a moment and then blinked. "Oh." He turned to the crowd. "Go on, there's nothing here. Just a little misunderstanding." They obviously did not believe him, but they went about their business anyway. After setting up a quick privacy spell, he turned back to the other boy and hissed, "Do you realize how damn _stupid_ that is?"

Ranma blinked back. "... Not at all?"

Chrono turned to the nearest bulkhead and started slamming his head against it.

"Um, hey... don't you have an admiral to blackmail or something?" Ranma wondered.

After shooting him a disgusted look, Chrono dismissed the privacy spell and stalked off.

* * *

"So that's the house?" Ranma asked, looking down from several hundred feet up.

"It is," Fate quietly confirmed.

"Not bad for around here," the other Anchor commented. "Looks like it's got a yard, too."

"Yeah, her sponsor pays for just about everything," Nanoha agreed, floating on the far side of Fate.

"... And you've got the upgrades or whatever you need, now?" Ranma queried, looking at Chrono, who simply nodded.

"Well, then, let's get going."

* * *

The tricky part, really, had been not getting blasted when Shamal opened the door, Chrono decided. How that had led to the group of them sitting at the Western-style dining room table, drinking tea and making small talk, waiting for Ranma to thaw himself back out and come out of the bathroom, had been something else entirely.

It seemed that their hostess was still a little miffed at something Ranma had done to someone in her house (or was it presence?) a few centuries previous. Or maybe hadn't done; it was a little hard to tell, since she'd literally frozen him with a glare and then asked Signum and Zafira to haul him off to the bathroom so that he wouldn't drip on her hardwood floors. He was far from being in a position to tell, and she was not about to say, it seemed. After all, "oh dear, but a lady never tells," as she put it.

Yes, this one seemed a little less stable.

"So, this book is the reason I cannot walk?" the brunette on the far side of the table asked.

"It is," the Wolkenritter and TSAB representatives confirmed, with varying differences in verbiage according to personality.

"Well, then, why don't we just fill it up?"

The others looked at her like she was stupid.

"Mistress," Signum carefully started, "that is what we have _been_ doing. The _Book of Darkness_ requires Linker Cores-"

"Oh my, I don't mean like that. Taking them from other people would just be too mean, don't you think? Besides, Ranma would be disappointed if he was not here for this." The brunette earned herself another dumb look from the people that had obviously not completed a Nerima loop. "This kind of thing is what he and his father do. They run into powerful ancient artifacts that have 'Do Not Touch' signs on them, and then poke them to figure out what happens. It gets them into the most interesting adventures." She beamed at them sunnily.

The co-Anchors and Awakened looked at each other and collectively sighed. "If you say so, Kasumi."

"Thank you. Would you like some more tea?"

* * *

Some thirty minutes later, Ranma yelled from the bathroom, "Dammit, Kasumi, did it really have to be that cold?"

Raising her voice slightly, the brunette replied, "You earned it. There are towels above the washing machine."

"When I can get to 'em. I'm still frozen from the waist down."

"Pardon me?"

"Alright, fine, from the knees down. Do you really want me leaving chunks of ice scattered all over the washroom?" A pause. "How did you manage to create an air pocket there, anyway?"

"That is my secret, Ranma. I might tell you... someday. The mop and bucket are next to the dryer."

"Mistress," Signum asked softly, "how do you know these people?"

"Oh, the only one I know is Ranma," Kasumi replied. "We come from the same Loop."

The Wolkenritter exchanged glances, and from long experience with... unusual masters, wordlessly decided not to ask. Vita sighed to herself. And to think, this one had seemed so _normal_!

The TSAB representatives, however, hummed to themselves. They finally understood how Ranma had recognized her aura. But still...

"What did Ranma do to earn that?" Nanoha voiced the unspoken question.

"Oh my, but a lady never tells." She smiled. "And if he knows what is good for him, neither will he." A pause. "Besides, it is family business." Nanoha- and Fate, once she realized what was being said- made small sounds of comprehension. Chrono, who had spent nowhere near the amount of time in Japan that they had, did not, and was about to ask for an explanation when the tinkling of falling ice interrupted.

"Hey, where do you want me to dump the bucket?" Ranma called, interrupting that train of thought.

Their hostess sighed and answered, "There is a drainage tub next to the washing machine. Really, Ranma, you're more intelligent than this."

"I don't get frozen on a regular basis," he answered irritably to the rattling accompaniment of falling water and ice chips. "I'm not used to it."

"Oh my, I had not thought that such a small thing would be a problem," Kasumi told him mildly as he sulked into the room. She eyed his pants with a disapproving eyebrow.

He sighed, and his legs were briefly limned with a bluish glow. "Ki," he said tersely to more than a few surprised looks. "Later. What are we going to do about this book thing?"

"Mistress Kasumi says to fill it up," Shamal told him.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" He waved impatiently. "Go for it."

Everyone stared at him.

"What? You expect me to do it or something?"

A synchronized nod.

"Uh-uh. I know better than to mess around with magic I don't understand."

"Could've fooled me," Chrono grumbled. "Anyway," he continued, "is this really a good idea? When it's full, it goes berserk, doesn't it? Should we really be doing this here?"

Nanoha shrugged. "Barriers are wonderful things."

Kasumi cleared her throat. "Ranma, are you sure that you are ready for this?"

"I just said no, Kasumi!"

She wiped away a tear. "I thought we were more than that..."

"More than what? We've been friends for centuries, and you're _nine_! I'm not going to have sex with a nine-year-old! That's just creepy!"

"Darn," Nanoha muttered under her breath.

"Ranma," Kasumi sobbed, deftly maneuvering her wheelchair (impossibly so, considering she was supposed to be having a hysteric fit) to face away from the group and raising the back of her free hand to her forehead. "After all this time, I cannot believe you said that..."

"You made her cry!" the tiny redhead accused. "Apologize and do it already!" she ordered, waving said book in his face.

"Fine!" he snapped. "Don't blame me if this blows up in our faces!" He snatched the book and squeezed. The ancient volume began to twitch and shake in his hands.

"Um, Ranma," Shamal tried, "maybe you should be more careful?"

He glared at her. "Fat chance! You want this thing full, it's gonna be… full?" He blinked as the Wolkenritter's forms wavered and dissolved.

"What did you do, Ranma?!" Kasumi snapped, her chair spinning quickly and the hand that had been against her forehead stashing a small bottle in a side pocket. Four points of light flew back toward the book. It tore itself free from Ranma's hands, and floated its way over to Kasumi. "Oh my..."

The TSAB members looked at each other. "Well, shit."

* * *

_":Arf! Barrier_!:" Fate snapped over the telepathic link she shared with her familiar.

_"_:_Eh? Oh, right_,:" she answered, and a second later, the wave of _other_ swept over the scene.

"Guten morgen, Maestra," the _Book of Darkness_ told Kasumi, and arcane power cascaded over the girl.

Mechanically, she reached out to collect the Device. "I am the Mistress of the Book of Darkness. Bring power to these hands of mine. Seal: Release."

Raising Heart and Bardiche abruptly flashed into being, and Chrono snapped, "Durandal, set up!"

As Kasumi aged, Ranma commented, "So that's what she looks like with silver hair." He paused for a moment, and critically added, "I think I liked brown better."

* * *

The Book of Darkness, or rather, Reinforce, was confused. She hadn't really noticed, before; between launching the Wolkenritter program and filling her energy reserves, she was in a state best-described as restless sleep. This, though... this was not her Mistress, was not her Hayate- but it was nothing like any of her previous masters, either.

The experience was unusual, to say the least.

On the flip side, she might actually have a chance to try out her idea against the defense program, worked out over the last three or four-dozen cycles. Unless the other people decided to blast her; she'd be forced into defense mode, in that case, and the program would take control earlier.

There was one thing, though... "Why would she want _tea_?"

* * *

"Why would she want _tea_?"

"It's Kasumi?" Ranma shrugged. "Don't tell her this, but I've never really wanted to understand what goes on inside her mind."

The Book of Darkness: Kasumi version tilted its head to the side. "Does it really make that much of a difference? Most of the masters I have served have been the same, more or less. Mistress Hayate is different, and so is Mistress Kasumi, but I have been around a long time."

Nanoha's jaw clicked shut. "You remember Hayate?"

The Book looked at her oddly. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

Nanoha's mouth worked weakly for a minute before she managed, "But you've been going berserk all this time..." Raising Heart loosely dropped from her fingers.

Of course, despite the massive safeties involved and the odds against it, it randomly discharged an energy blast- that, of course, hit the Book of Darkness.

"Why me?" Ranma moaned. "Is some goddess out there blaming me because I haven't slept with her or something?"

* * *

Hild chuckled, watching the Nidhogg projection.

* * *

The Defense Program kicked in automatically. Not terribly surprising, given that was what it was supposed to do. "_\Tank Spirit_.\"

Its actions immediately following, though, were more… unexpected. It Bound everyone in the room, triggered \_Horse Speed_\ and ran out the door, where it cast _Slepnir_.

Although the Binds were not particularly difficult to break, they bought valuable time for it to make its escape.

There was a moment of silence.

"Well," Chrono said, "that could have gone better."

* * *

"So," Ranma said, "how are we going to find her, again?"

"No idea," Fate confessed.

Chrono frowned and brought up a comm screen. "Amy, can you track down the _Book of Darkness_ for us? It's run off."

"Already on it," she chirped.

'_Maybe she believes me about the teleport thing?_' he wondered.

"You'll just have to stay out of my bathroom from now on."

'_Guess not_.'

"Wait a minute, what's this about Chrono in Amy's bathroom?" Nanoha asked.

Chrono and Amy, still visible on the screen, flushed bright red; Ranma smothered a smirk and a chuckle; Fate simply said "later."

"But I wanna know _now_!" she whined.

"_Book of Darkness_ now, gossip later," Fate chided her.

"Oh, fine," Nanoha pouted. "I wonder if that spell of Hayate's..." She looked at Raising Heart.

"It can be done," it chimed.

"Are you sure? We haven't tried this type of spell before, and you're not a Belka-type Device..."

"I believe, Master," it told her, and she gave it a Look. "You can do it, Master," it reiterated.

Ranma whispered to Fate, "What're they talking about?"

"One of Hayate's... well, the _Book of the Night Sky_'s spells," Fate replied. "It's called 'Magical Prison,' and it's a Belkan spell. She's never tried it with Raising Heart."

An eyebrow went up.

"There's not much point," she defended her friend. "All it does is constrict the battlefield."

The other eyebrow went up.

"Okay, so it's incredibly useful, but she's usually involved in massive aerial battles where you need the room to maneuver. It doesn't keep people from entering, either, so you can't cut someone off from reinforcements. It's really only good if you don't want someone to get away."

Ranma grunted and turned his attention to the odd spell-seal forming around Nanoha. "I've never seen a circle try that hard to be a triangle before," he observed.

"Shut up," growled a sweating Nanoha.

"Got her!" Amy exclaimed. "She's at the park by the bay!"

"_Magical Prison_," Raising Heart chimed.

"Well," Nanoha said, panting lightly, "let's go get her."

* * *

When the _Book of Darkness_'s core consciousness regained control, she looked through her Mistress's eyes and found herself watching the sea. The sea was calming, soothing... and probably the reason she had been able to take back the driver's seat, as it were. She could still feel the Defense Program, though, pushing against the back of her mind. It was a… disturbing sensation; almost as much so as feeling one's body taken and being able to watch its actions. Thankfully, the Mistress was still asleep... which meant that waking her up was its first priority.

Hopefully, it was not too late.

By the time the _Magical Prison_ swept over them, she was already deep inside herself, looking for her Mistress. Unfortunately, someone had to look after the body...

* * *

"There she is!" Chrono shouted. "_Struggle Bind_!" The familiar blue seal rapidly formed below her, wrapping her in tendrils of energy.

"_Chain Bind_!" Arf chorused, and orange chains overlaid the previous spell.

The _Book of Darkness_ looked up, and started flexing.

"That's not going to hold her," Ranma said, eying the Unison. He tapped his chin. "I wonder... Lil?"

"How many times have I told you?" her voice answered, startling the group. Up to now, every time she spoke to Ranma, she had manifested. "My name's 'Lilith,' not 'Lil.' What do you want? I've got people to do."

"Have you been paying attention to what's going on?" he asked. "I'm going to need you and the girls to help me with this, okay? I don't want to kill her, just hold her down."

"Sure, whatever," she chirped.

He sketched an upside-down hook and an asterisk-shaped symbol in the air, leaving a pulsing red trail where his hand passed, and finally holding his hand open between the two. "*You, ancient serpent/ That holds the world in/ Your eternal coils:/ Come,* Jormungandr! _*Serpent Bind,_*" he chanted in a language none of them recognized.

The others recoiled visibly when a massive and visibly scaly loop of power thrust itself out of the ocean to coil itself around the... woman.

"Gentle," Ranma murmured to himself, slowly closing his hand into a fist. "Don't want to break her..." Frowning, he held the position. "Okay, Lilith. That ought to do for now."

"Ranma," Arf asked carefully, "what is that?"

"Serpent Bind," he told her.

"Well, no shit," she snapped irritably. "_What is it?_"

It took a minute for that to process... well, a minute and Fate having to hold Arf back from trying to knock his head in when he didn't answer immediately. They could not afford for her to break a hand right now, after all.

"Somewhere between a summoning spell and an energy bind," he finally answered. "I'm borrowing a little of Jormungandr's essence to hold her."

"_And what is Jormungandr_?!" the familiar gritted.

"The World Serpent," he said nonchalantly. "The giant snake that surrounds the worlds, holding its tail in its mouth." He paused. "Also an apocalypse program, although I don't think I've touched that. If I did, Skuld would have my ass." He paused again. "Again."

Below, the _Book of Darkness_ continued to flex against its bonds, and the ground beneath it started to crack.

* * *

Hearing her name over the monitor, Skuld paused in her work and replayed the last five seconds of dialogue. "Ranma~a," she groaned. "How many times have I told you not start the end of the world?" She immediately turned her attention to checking the Ragnarok programs... especially Jormungandr.

* * *

Tentacles on claws forced their way up through the ground, and snapped out toward them. While not a huge threat, they were definitely attention-grabbers; if they did not want to be trapped, they would have to move back.

They were also, Ranma discovered, incredibly resistant to blunt blows. "Dammit!" he barked as he gave ground, "How the hell do you get rid of these things?"

Fate, some seventy-five feet closer to the _Book of Darkness_, held up Bardiche, in Haken form and shouted over her shoulder, "We cut them off!"

"Arc Saber," Bardiche announced, and Fate snapped the energy-scythe forward. The blade flung itself further, reaping a relatively narrow swath of tentacle-claws.

"Crud," he grumbled. Backflipping over a sweeping tentacle, he launched himself into the air and backed off. "Don't like doing this," he mumbled to himself. "Pushing too many lines. Stay in there, girls." He began sketching an odd s-shape and then an even odder one- almost like a "k," but with a line slanting back down to close the top of the letter and continuing above where it joined the vertical line. "*Lo, for I am that which binds!/ All things against me/ Let the pyre of victory/ Devour and grow./ Master of the lands of fire! Lend me the bright blade!* _Surtr!_"

He briefly inspected the glowing sword-shape that appeared point down in front of him. It was closer to being a broadsword than anything he was used to, but it would work. He reached out and seized the hilt.

"Ranma! What are you doing?! Get back down here and help!" Nanoha shouted.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he shouted back, and sped his way back into the fray.

'_Yes_,' he thought, absently catching a claw on the blade, '_that's more like it_.' Leaning more heavily into the block, he forced it down and stomped on the tentacle before slicing through it.

The low slice spun into a high slash, cutting one that had been behind him, and back forward and down across his body, the pressure of the burning air giving it greater reach. It was far from the most efficient of attacks, but it worked. At least until ones that fired laser beams showed up.

"Hey, Nanoha, Fate," he yelled up to the two, who had moved to the air once he came back, "can you do something to keep these down? I don't think those binds are going to hold her forever, you know?"

"She's already broken my _Struggle Bind_," Chrono, off to his left and above, shouted. "She should be working on Arf's _Chain Bind_ right now!"

"_Chain Bind_ isn't going to last much longer, either! Fate, do something!"

Fate grunted and tightened her grip on Bardiche. "_Plasma Smasher_!"

"_Divine Buster_!" Nanoha shouted.

"It's gone!" Arf screamed.

"_Jormungandr_ isn't going to hold long, either," Ranma told them. "It's like putting a rock on top of something to keep it closed."

"_Sonic Form_," Bardiche clanged. "_Sonic Move_."

As fast as Fate was, it wasn't fast enough.

"_\Absorption_.\"

* * *

Kasumi blinked. She rubbed her eyes, and double-checked. She was in her kitchen at the Tendo home, eating something delicious that Akane... had... cooked? She paused. There was something wrong about that.

It took her a moment to realize what, exactly, that thing was. _She was eating something delicious that Akane had cooked- and it was not curry_. Despite the girl's time in the Loops, she had yet to make something else that qualified as "delicious." Good, yes- but never _delicious_. Well, not if it was something other than curry, anyway. Something was seriously wrong here.

"You're awake," a voice said behind her. "That's good."

She spun to see a silver-haired female, her hair unbound. "Would you please explain?"

"You see, it's like this..."

* * *

"Fate!" Arf screamed.

"Holy shit," Ranma breathed. "What the hell just happened?" he wondered aloud and telepathically, shifting to ferret-form from the surprise.

":_She's still here, Ranma_,:" Lilith said over their personal link. ":_Relax. It's not like she was eaten or something_.:"

":_The_ Book of Darkness _took her_,:" Chrono replied into the shared telepathic link. ":_For all intents and purposes, it ate her. It'll be able to use her attacks now_.:"

":_Okay, maybe it did_,:" Lilith admitted. ":_Still, no reason to panic_-:"

":_Outside of the Hayate and Fate, in this time-line, everyone the_ Book _has taken never woke up again_.:"

":_Ranma, calm down!_:" Lilith ordered. ":_We don't need you destroying universes here!_:"

":_It's not like it's permanent right now_,:" Nanoha said. ":_Fate should be able to break out of it in a few minutes. We need to hurry up, though, or it'll really go crazy. Chrono, get to a firing position! Ranma, keep the tentacles down!_:"

":_Like it's not now?_:" Chrono muttered, taking to the air, giving Ranma an odd look as the winged ferret finished scratching something into a stick and tossed it at Nanoha.

"Divine Buster!" Nanoha yelled.

"You think I will be hurt by an attack I know?" the _Book_ asked flatly. "Drill through the energy, _Bloody Dagger_."

"What the… What's with the circles and squiggly lines?" Nanoha asked. "What's this supposed to- EEP!" She screeched in surprise when the _Bloody Dagger_ detonated a good ten feet out and she was left holding a torch.

":_That_,:" he said in satisfaction. ":_Good. I wasn't sure it was going to work_.:"

":_Don't give me something you don't know is going to work!_:" Nanoha yelled over the link.

":_So noisy_,:" Chrono muttered. "_Snipe Shot!" "_:_Seriously, pay attention! We have something better to do!_:" he snapped at Nanoha.

"You hurt Fate!" Arf screamed as she came out of shock, closing to hand-to-hand. "You're going to-" Whatever the _Book of Darkness_ was going to do was abruptly cut off as she was backhanded into a wall after blocking a brief flurry of _Amaguriken_-speed blows.

"Okay, that's enough!" Ranma snapped. ":_Lilith, girls, out! Nanoha, Chrono, give me covering fire! It ate Kasumi, it ate Fate, and now, it's hurt Arf! Enough's enough!_:"

":_Are you sure?_:" Lilith asked as the three Angels stretched their wings. ":_If you're not careful, you'll destroy everything. That'd be kinda bad, ya know?_:"

"I don't care!" he ground out, forcing his way back to human. "It's going down!"

Reluctantly, Lilith separated herself and began directing the Angels' area suppression efforts, shooting him one last unsure look.

A wave of power generated by the now unused energy cleared a thirty foot circle around him and earned him the undivided attention of the battlefield. It also earned him the undivided attention of the _Book of Darkness_ and a vicious kick to the sternum, followed by a massive palm-strike to the chest, launching him back ten feet.

'_Mōko Kaimon Haand Dokuja Tanketsu Shō_,' he thought clinically. '_She's using Yamasenken? Where did she learn it?_'

"Raising Heart, mid-range firing mode." ":_Ranma, can you keep her more or less in one place?_:" Nanoha asked. ":_If you can keep her distracted, I think I can hit her with_ Starlight Breaker. _That should help with the barrier_.:"

":_Busy!_:" he barked back, flipping over a wave of... something that ended up cutting a building behind where he had been in half. ":_See what I can do_,:" he managed, rolling out of the flip and into a spinning roundhouse. ":_Might be able to deal with the barrier myself_.:"

"Target locked. Count ten," Raising Heart told her.

":_That's right, you bastard, follow me_,:" Ranma's thoughts coldly bled into the link, leaving an almost physical sensation, as he danced back and around another palm strike, almost gently directing it to his right with what was apparently the flat of his sword.

Lilith, recognizing what was coming, broadcast, ":_Get clear! Chrono, I've got dog-girl! Lady of the Eclipse, Sanguine Messenger, keep the tentacles off Ranma! Unbound Innocence, on me!_:" Swooping in, she collected Arf from the rubble and flew as fast as she could to a rooftop several further away than Nanoha, followed by the Holy Bell copy.

Raising Heart was barely audible from her position. "Count four."

Landing gently beside her, Chrono asked, "What's he doing? It looks like some sort of spiral..."

"Ask him to explain it," the succubus replied absently. ":_Okay, girls, get clear!_:" she ordered the two remaining angels, and not a moment too soon.

":_Now!_:" Ranma, intentionally or not, blasted into the link, winds abruptly picking up around him and forming into a massive tornado, sweeping up the creature that was the _Book_.

"Count one!" Raising Heart shouted.

"Barrel shot!" Nanoha yelled, and a wave of energy swept out, clearing the bore of magical influence- but somehow not disrupting the tornado.

"This makes no sense," Chrono murmured. "How in the world is that possible?"

"I told you, ask him!" Lilith snapped irritably. "We're just lucky he hasn't crashed the world yet. I think."

"Crashed the world?"

"Remember those speeches he gave about killing off realities when you get too powerful?" She pointed at her host. "He hit that level so long ago, there's no phrase for the amount of time it's been since then."

"_Starlight Breaker!_" Nanoha screamed, and the massive pink beam o' doom energy blast bore into the altered being as a beam of intertwined white and gold light rose from the eye of the tempest.

* * *

"It has been a long time since I've been here," Fate murmured and snuggled with her sister-original. She sighed sadly. "I can't stay, though." A pause. "Maybe just a few more minutes?"

A knock on the door. "Or not," she sighed. "We're awake," she called, and shook Alicia. "It's time to wake up, Alicia. I need Bardiche."

"He's mine," she muttered, not quite awake.

"Not really, no," Fate gently contradicted her. "It's time to get up."

"Can't you stay?" Alicia asked, attempting the puppy-dog-eyes.

Fate sighed again and tapped her gently on the nose. "You know I can't."

"Please?" she whined, her eyes somehow getting bigger and shinier, tiny tears forming at the corners.

"Alicia, if Nanoha and Vivio can't do that to me, you can't," the "big sister" said irritably, holding out a hand. "Now, please, give me Bardiche."

"Fine," Alicia pouted, and dropped it onto the outstretched palm.

"That's better," Fate smiled, and briefly ruffled the "younger" girl's hair. "Be well, Alicia. It's time for me to go now." She smiled sadly. "Bardiche, set up."

"Yes sir," the Intelligent Device agreed. A ripple of power swept over her, changing her from her pajamas to the familiar leotard and cape ensemble that was her Barrier Jacket.

"Goodbye, Alicia," Fate Tesstarossa Harlaown smiled at her original as she walked out the door to the main hall.

* * *

"So, you are saying that you are the spirit of that odd book of mine, which is apparently a magical talisman," Kasumi began, sipping at her tea.

The entity that had introduced itself as "The Book of the Night Sky" nodded, setting her tea on the low table between them.

"And that there is a piece of you that causes you to go insane."

Another nod.

"And that it grows back if you simply remove it?"

A third nod.

The brunette considered that. "So... why do you not simply replace it with something that does work and does not cause you to go crazy?"

"It is not that simple, Mistress," the _Book_ tried to explain. Again. "I do not have access to that part of me. It is rather like trying to remove one of your own kidneys."

"I fail to see the difficulty," Kasumi said serenely. "All you need is a good mirror, a heart rate and blood pressure monitor, several pints of blood, and some good antiseptics." She paused. "Anesthetics do help, but too many of them act on the mind as well as the body." She shrugged. "The same thing may be done with pressure points with fewer negative effects."

The consciousness of the _Book_ rubbed at her eyes. They had been over this several times by now. "Yes, Mistress, but I do not _have_ any of those."

"I can understand that you do not have kidneys," the other woman said, "since you have explained that you are made of-"

"I have not kidneys, nor the tools, nor the practice, Mistress," the _Book_ interrupted, attempting to rule out as many of the possibilities that they had already covered as she could. "Nor do I have a mentor to stand over me while I perform the operation," she cut off the next thing that her Mistress would say. "It is a moot point, in any case, since my programming _forbids from performing that operation in the first place_."

"But-"

"Mistress, only my Administrator may perform or direct that operation. I am not my own Administrator." Seriously, why was she having such a hard time with this? She seemed so bright!

Kasumi frowned cutely. "So why do you not ask this 'Administrator' person to do it?"

"That is what I am trying to do, Mistress." '_Almost there, almost_...'

"But I am the only one here," Kasumi pointed out.

"This is true, Mistress. I am glad that you have noticed," the _Book_ replied in as flat a voice as it could manage.

"So... if I am the only one here, does that mean-"

"I am not the Administrator, Mistress. I am merely an artificial construct created to facilitate the Administrator's actions." She had long since dropped the word "user" from the conversation. It only seemed to confuse her mistress further, and at this point, that was counterproductive.

"Oh my... then, I am the Administrator?"

'_Yes!_' It was all she could do to prevent herself from dancing for joy and keep her voice calm. "Yes, Mistress, you are."

"Oh dear. Why did you not say so in the first place?"

The _Book_ twitched violently. "I _did_, Mistress."

"Is that so?"

"It is. Several times over, in fact."

"Well, let's set that aside and get to work then, shall we?" Kasumi smiled and reached out to her.

* * *

The braided beams of light shot up and away from the tornado holding the _Book of Darkness_ captive, branching in opposite directions once they reached the top of the bore. "Well, he's done it now," Lilith sighed. "I _really_ hope he didn't break everything." She looked at the tornado appraisingly. "Unless that thing has a life force of its own, that should be dying down soon."

"That's... good," Chrono murmured. More strongly, he added, "The _Book_'s protection program is a construct, so it doesn't have a life force of its own."

"Well, either that or rip the planet apart. One or the other." She shrugged. "No skin off our backs, though. We warned him."

Chrono stared at her.

"What? It's not like he hasn't ripped planets apart before."

_That_ got the attention of Nanoha, who had been watching the yellow trail of light. "Hold on, what?"

"You mean you haven't?" Lilith asked in surprise. "That usually happens right before they get sent to Hogwarts or Eiken." She paused. "Oh yeah, right, haven't been to those yet, have you." A shrug. "You'll see. Everyone does it once in a while. Not on purpose, usually, but everyone does it." As an afterthought, the succubus added, "He blew up a sun in the Queen of Hell's face, once. Well, it's not really Hell, it's Niflheim, but same idea, really."

"He... blew up a sun," Chrono said numbly.

"Not too hard," Lilith noted. "They're really pretty delicately balanced. It doesn't take much to throw something that big and with that kind of power off. Kind of like metaphysical Judo."

Nanoha shook herself. "I'm not sure I believe you," she said levelly. "I'm going to check on Fate. We _are_ going to be talking about this later," she shot over her shoulder as she turned to chase the fading trail of her best friend.

Lilith chuckled nervously and scratched at the back of her neck.

* * *

"Sir?" Bardiche clanged as they proceeded back toward the battlefield.

"That was... odd," Fate agreed quietly. "Do you know where the tornado came from?"

"No sir," he answered.

"Fate!" Nanoha cried, tackling her out of nowhere. "I was so worried! Are you okay? It didn't do anything bad to you, did it?" the brunette sobbed, holding her tightly.

"I am fine, Nanoha," the blonde answered, carefully relocating her best friend-slash-lover's hands to less... sensitive areas. "Where did the tornado come from?"

"Ranma," the Ace-to-be answered irritably, moving her hands back. "Lilith said it was running on life force or something."

"Ah," Fate said, once again transplanting Nanoha's hands. "Is it dying down?"

"Looks that way. I've got to get him to explain that. It's not magical at all, can you believe that?"

"Is that so," Fate replied, this time pinning the brunette's hands to her midriff with her own. "Nanoha, this is neither the time or the place. I will make it up to you later, if you insist, but not in public!"

"Fine," Nanoha pouted. "It's not like anyone's looking."

Fate cleared her throat and pointed back along Nanoha's flight path to where Lilith was clearly visible and staring at them.

"Oh." Nanoha considered that. "Maybe we should invite her over?"

"Nanoha!" Fate snapped, ignoring the puppy-dog eyes. "_Book of Darkness_! End of the world! Busy!"

"Whatever," her friend continued, trying to squirm free. "We've got fifteen minutes..."

"Fifteen minutes to completely reconstruct a new plan because the old one isn't going to work right now!" Fate barked. "Don't make me put you on the couch for the next twenty Loops!"

"Aw..." Again, Nanoha resorted to the puppy-dog eyes, and again, they failed miserably. "Fine," she sighed. ":_Ranma, are you alive in there?_:" she broadcast. ":_Fate and that friend of yours are out. Well, I think she's out; I'm trying to get Fate to be less of a meanie right now_.:"

":_I'm still here_,:" the pigtailed boy replied. ":_What'd you do to tick her off now, try to have sex in public or something? Jeez, she was only in there for thirty minutes. It's not like you've been without for years or anything_.:"

":... _Setting that aside, we need to do something with that program before it goes nuts and eats everything_,:" she advised him. ":_Since you were the one to screw everything up, why don't you do it?_:"

":_Me?_:" he squawked as the tornado died down and the mass of magic landed in the water. ":_You and Kasumi came up with that plan, and you want_ me _to fix it because it didn't work out? Jeez. You're as bad as my old man_.:"

":_That's not really fair, Ranma_,:" Lilith told him, entering the conversation. ":_They've only done it once. It makes them more like... well... nobody from your home Loop that I can think of, but I'm sure there's someone_.:"

":_What's that supposed to mean?_:" Nanoha asked curiously.

":_Just wait until you meet him_,:" Ranma grunted darkly. ":_You'll see_.:"

":_Aw, but I'm curious now_,:" Nanoha whined.

":_Nanoha_,:" Fate reminded her.

":_Fine_...:"

":_Getting rid of it shouldn't be too hard if you use that spell_,:" Lilith pointed out, ":_We'll be there to help, too, so you should be able to do it_.:"

":_You know how risky that one is,_:" Ranma argued. ":_I'd rather not be responsible for letting it go out of control_.:"

":_You wouldn't be_,:" Lilith chirped, ":_me and the girls will be there for you_.:"

":_Yeah, except the system treats you as part of me_,:" he groused.

":_Um... what spell?_:" Chrono asked.

":_You'll see_,:" Lilith said slyly. ":_Hey, has Arf woken up yet?_:"

"Arf? What happened to Arf?" Fate asked aloud.

"The _Book_ swatted her," Nanoha replied easily.

"And you didn't tell me this... why?"

"I was busy." The brunette glared at her blonde companion.

"And you didn't think to tell me that someone who might as well be my little sister was hurt?"

"I didn't want to kill the mood..."

"_What_ mood? You just tried to jump me!"

":_If we can interrupt your little spat_,:" Lilith interjected, "_Chrono's taken dog-girl up to the_ Asura _to get looked at. She'll be fine up there, right?_:"

Fate sighed slightly. "Ah, well," she muttered, "let's go get Kasumi."

* * *

It was odd, Fate decided, to hear "Yagami Kasumi" at the end of the Wolkenritter's little speech instead of "Yagami Hayate." It was something she'd have to get used to, though, unless something happened to kill her and Nanoha early. It happened every once in a while- though not so much recently... though Ranma had been throwing wrenches into how things normally went left and right.

She wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing yet.

Still, as long as Nanoha, Vivio, Erio and Caro were alright, everything would be fine, she supposed. Even if they did not yet exist, as such. Well, Caro did; Erio and Vivio, on the other hand...

"So, are you going to explain this spell of yours?" Chrono asked, having returned in time to catch the tail end of it.

"Well, there are two I think I could use, but I'd really rather not use either of them," Ranma replied. Lilith was sitting on his shoulder; the Angels had gone back to wherever they came from not long after the tornado died down.

The group blinked at that. Kasumi, from longer exposure to Ranma and having the _Book of the Night Sky_ plugged in to the back of her mind, winced. She was pretty sure which spells he meant; he had only figured out five or six, after all, and they were... not nice.

"I don't know if we can control them. There's too much that could go wrong."

"Why not give it a shot?" Nanoha asked. "What's the-"

Fate stopped her with a hand over her mouth. "You know better than to ask that," she scolded.

Ranma looked at her flatly. "The worst thing that could happen is that reality either gets eaten or frozen over, depending on the spell."

Chrono cleared his throat. "That would be bad."

"Just a little," the pigtailed boy agreed.

"We can probably keep the area of effect down," Lilith offered, "so it's not like it'll eat the whole universe or anything. It'd solve your problem, though."

"Ranma, Lilith," Kasumi asked hesitantly, "how sure are you...?"

"Oh, about eighty percent," the demoness said flippantly.

"Eighty... percent... That's not so bad..."

"That's eighty percent that it _does_ affect everything," Ranma clarified.

The ponytailed brunette paused. "Ranma, please tell me you did not just set up a Summon Bigger Fish scenario."

"I didn't," he assured her. "All of you did."

"We wouldn't have been in this situation if you hadn't screwed the timetable all to hell!" Fate snapped, earning a wince.

It also earned her a retort: "Well, maybe if you'd asked instead of trying to guilt me into it, we wouldn't be! Oh, wait, you did, and I said no because I thought it would go to hell in a handbasket, and look where we are!" He glared at Kasumi. "I'd think that _you_, at least, would know better!"

"Leave Mistress Kasumi alone!" Vita barked, waving Graf Eisen threateningly.

"You stay out of this, munchkin," he shouted back.

"Who the hell are you calling a munchkin, ferret-boy!" Vita yelled. "You're as short as me!"

"_I'm_ not an ancient program out of some doomsday device!"

"Stop it, both of you, or I'll give you both to Nanoha," Fate threatened them, cutting across the conversation.

They stopped immediately.

"Am I really _that_ bad?" Nanoha quietly asked Chrono.

"Sometimes, Nanoha. Sometimes."

"What will happen if these... spells... do destroy everything?" Signum asked after a moment.

"Best case? Hogwarts. Worst case? Yggdrasil crashes, and we lose everything we've done since the Loops started." He paused. "And I mean _everything_. If that happens, I've got bigger problems on my hands, believe me."

Lilith nodded energetically. "Fun, though."

"You wouldn't be around to enjoy them," he pointed out, and the succubus slumped a bit.

Then she started gnawing on his earlobe. Hard. "Dammit, why'd you have to point that out?!"

"Ow! Hey! Stop it!"

The rest of the group got a little bit of a chuckle out of that before they turned back to more serious matters. "So, do we go for it?" Chrono asked. "It's that or shoot the _Arc en Ciel_ at it."

"That would not do," Shamal said sadly. "That would destroy our Mistress's house."

"And mine," Nanoha added.

"Like the end of the world wouldn't?" Fate asked.

"Well, yeah, but it'd get better," Nanoha shrugged.

"And it wouldn't anyway?"

The brunette shrugged again.

"Skuld, Urd, I know you're watching," Ranma announced to the world in general. "Fair warning." He paused. "Anyone else got déjà vu right now?"

After giving Ranma an odd look, Chrono pulled up a screen. "Amy, how much time do we have left before the defense program starts rampaging?"

"About three minutes," the operator replied.

"Well, anyone else got any bright ideas?"

"We could try sending it further out into the ocean," Shamal said tentatively. "The _Arc en Ciel_ might be able to deal with it more effectively out there, without flooding Japan or anything."

The three TSAB mages exchanged looks. "Worth a shot," they decided.

* * *

There was something of a problem when they tried to move the manifestation of the Defense Program, despite the fact that things concerning it had since gone more or less how they normally went.

When they dropped the quickly-regenerating spell it into the deeper part of the ocean, it was swamped by a wave and sunk.

Considering that the thing was made of solid, compressed magic, it should not have happened. Especially given that it had acted like some kind of giant arcane insect earlier, standing on top of the water.

They had failed to take weather into account. Ranma had simply assumed that weather outside the barrier would not affect the inside; the others had forgotten that there might _be_ weather. While understandable, in Chrono's case- he had spent much of his life in highly controlled environments, after all, and dimensional storms were _not_ the kind of things you wanted to run into on a planet- in the cases of Nanoha and Fate, it was somewhat less so. Additionally, they had forgotten... well, _Ranma_ had forgotten; the others refused to admit they had ever known that waves out in the deep sea tended to be much, much bigger than the ones by the shore when they occurred.

Perhaps the current situation was because it had taken on some of the characteristics of an insect.

"I've never seen a spell drown before," Ranma observed.

"It's not supposed to be able to," Chrono pointed out. "It's supposed to be able to adapt to and overcome just about everything."

"Well, apparently it can't overcome surface tension," the pigtailed boy replied, watching it scrabble at the underside of the water's surface as it rose and fell with the waves. "You'd think it'd use those tentacles it had earlier."

"I don't think they can reach," Nanoha disagreed. "The water there was only twenty or thirty meters deep. It's half a kilometer or so here. That's a big difference."

"We should still do something about it," Fate told them. "It would be irresponsible to just leave it here. Ships come through here, after all, and it would probably latch on to one of them and end up eating the world."

"Oh dear, we can't let it do that," Kasumi fretted. "Ranma, isn't there something that you could possibly do about this?"

Said individual looked at her flatly. "What got us into this situation again?"

"Oh. Sorry. Vita, don't poke that!"

The redhead moped her way back up from the sea where she'd been trying to poke the Defense Program with Graf Eisen. "I'm never allowed to have any fun," she grumbled to Zafira.

The familiar Guardian Beast whuffed at her and went back to watching the conversation.

"What about using Durandal?" Nanoha proposed. "It's supposed to be able to freeze it, right?"

"It's really more of a stasis spell," Chrono hedged. "It doesn't really create ice."

"Can't we just blast it?" Ranma asked.

"No. If we did that, it would simply regenerate any of its damage and then would likely be able to swim," Signum answered. "We need to be able to attack the creature's core directly."

"So... we break it again, because Amy wasn't able to get the _Asura_ aimed fast enough?"

"She did just fine!" Chrono defended his once-and-perhaps-future spouse. "We didn't exactly put it in a drop zone, you know."

"I don't think we even had one," Shamal said. "It would have defenses against most of our attacks now."

"Isn't Ranma the only one who didn't attack it?" Kasumi asked.

"I told you before. No."

"All you need to do is kill it a little," the redhead grumbled.

"No!"

"Please?" The combined females turned the power of the Puppy Dog Eyes on Ranma.

He glared at Chrono's back. "Aren't you going to help me out, here?"

The enforcer simply shook his head.

"Fine. Whatever. I'll do it. It's your fault if this goes to hell in a handbasket."

"Yay!" the girls cheered.

"... You suck," Ranma grumbled.

Nanoha looked at him archly. "Why, Ranma, I didn't know you were interested. I do a lot more, too."

"GAH!"

After peeling her co-anchor away from what was now a ferret, Fate asked, "What do you need us to do?"

Ranma considered that. "Barriers. Lots and lots of barriers. And shields, set so the spell can go in, but not get out." He paused for a moment, and then continued, "If I'm not going to kill off everything, I'll have to do it formally. It'll be ritual magic. I'll tell you where to stand. Well, fly."

Fate nodded. "Guardians of the Corners?"

"More or less. The girls will be a help, but there's only so much they can do, you know?"

* * *

Ranma looked out over the ocean, giving the wards one last look. '_This might work_,' he thought. '_Might. It's not a 'one-in-a-million' scenario, though_.' He considered that. '_Yeah, we're totally screwed. Still... Why not?_'

":_Are you ready?_:" he broadcast.

":_Lightning ready_,:" Fate replied.

":_Stars ready_,:" announced Nanoha.

":_Set_,:" Chrono agreed.

":_We're ready here_,:" Kasumi answered tentatively.

":_The_ Asura _is standing by,_:" confirmed Amy.

":_Girls?_:" he asked over their private link.

":_Of course, Ranma_,:" Lilith answered softly. ":_We'll always be here for you_.:"

He took a deep breath. ":_Let's get this started, then_,:" he declared, and settled carefully onto the surface of the ocean.

This would be significantly different from what he had done so far. Most of the Mid and Belkan magic he had run across was tied up in objects, be it Devices of one kind or another or something as simple as providing creature comforts. Of course, there were also combat spells, but those were in a completely different category, and even then, the Devices did most of the actual work. The researchers had done some odd things, but nothing on this scale- and certainly not like this.

'_Is. Hægl. Nyd. Ger_,' he thought, etching each rune carefully into the air. Even the slightest mistake would be... bad. "*Lo, for I am that which binds,*" he recited, rotating clockwise as he drew. '_Os, thorn, mann, nyd, ger; is, hægl, nyd, ger_.' "*All things within my hand...*" '_Ur, elh, ior, eoh, eolh, beorc, ac, aesc_.' "*Draw within the heart of ice.*" '_Is, hægl, nyd, ger_.' "*Eternal slumber!*" '_Ear, lagu, is, hægl, nyd, ger_,' he finished, completing the circle. "*Freeze, O eternal winter!/ Sleep forever!* _Fimbulvetr!_"

Slowly, gently, the breeze began to blow, circling in from the poles. The wind danced from the uppermost atmosphere down to the surface of the sea, following the circle he had made, and the sea rose up to meet it, leaving a wall of wind and wave around the spell's caster.

Nanoha shivered, but remained at her southern post even as mist began to rise from the sea.

"What in the world?" Fate, in the east, murmured. She was no stranger to weather magic; in fact, she had used it herself to wake up the Jewel Seeds so long ago. This, though, was on a completely different scale.

The column, already pale with the froth, whitened further as the temperature began to drop, and the swaying of the sea began to slow.

":_What the_-:" Amy squawked. ":_What's going on down there?_:" she demanded.

":_What does it look like?_:" Chrono, to the north, asked.

":_It doesn't look like anything! The Pacific where you are has a- a_ typhoon _or something forming where you are! The only thing on our sensors is a huge mass of magic, even bigger than the Defense Program! The only reason I'm able to talk to you is because the connection was opened on your side!_:"

":_He's freezing the world_,:" Kasumi whispered, drawing the Wolkenritter close for warmth, but not moving from her position in the west.

":_Will he be alright?_:" Fate asked.

":_He's Ranma Saotome_,:" the brunette from the boy's home Loop answered. ":_He always comes out ahead_.:" Only her Knights heard the next part of the statement: "But right now, he's Ranma Scrya, and I don't know enough about him."

The group quietly watched as the sea simply _stopped_ and solidified. The tower remained, an untouchable Babel, the Defense Program clearly visible at its crystalline base.

And then, in one cacophonous crash, Babel fell.


	3. Chapter 3: Hanami

Chrono closed his eyes and murmured, ":_Fire the_ Arc en Ciel.:"

Fate protested, ":_But Ranma_-:"

":_Understood what he was doing_,:" he cut her off.

":_The_ Arc en Ciel _will be ready in ten minutes_,:" Amy quietly advised them. ":_If you can pull him out of there before then... That much ice falling on someone would crush most people. Even if he survived that, it might be a long time before he can do anything_.:"

":_He's still alive_,:" Kasumi stated. ":_Can't you tell?_:"

":_How do you know?_:" Fate demanded. ":_You can't be using a search spell. The magic down there is too unstable. It'd fall apart_-:"

":_Who said I was using magic?_:"

The others blinked.

":_Mistress_,:" Shamal carefully started, ":_if you're not using magic_...:"

":_There are more things in existence than magic. Nanoha's family's school of kenjutsu should be proof enough_.:"

":_Nanoha... does kenjutsu?_:" Chrono blinked.

":_It's a family school_,:" the girl in question answered absently. ":_And no, I don't practice it. I've never had the time. Miyuki and Kyouya do, though_.:"

":_I'd say you have the time now_,:" Lilith pointed out.

":_Well, yes, but- hey, wait, you're alive?_:"

":_You don't say. I don't think I noticed_.:"

":_How's Ranma?_:" Fate quickly started in before Nanoha could completely derail the conversation.

":_Why don't you ask him yourself? Oh, and you might want to back up a few miles now._:"

":_What for?_:" Chrono asked immediately before being answered by a baseball-sized chunk of ice to the face. "OW! :_What the_-:"

":-_heck is going on down there?_:" Amy demanded. ":_We just had a huge flash on our optics, but it didn't show up on thermal or magic scans!_:"

":_Eh?!_:"

":_I told you there was more than physics or magic_,:" Kasumi said serenely. ":_Watch_.:" She paused. ":_We might want to put up some heavier shields, though. Unlike Chrono, we girls have to be careful of our faces_.:"

":_What's that supposed to mean?!_:" he objected to the sound of much giggling.

":_Exactly what I said,_:" she replied, humor in her "voice."

":_My Chrono needs to protect himself too_,:" Amy objected.

":_'My Chrono,' huh?_:" Fate teased. ":_Why, Amy, do you like my big brother?_:"

":_I-it's not like that!_:" she protested, the blush almost audible. ":_Besides, why are you so worried about Ranma?_:"

":_I apologize for interrupting, but I was serious about the shields_,:" Kasumi interjected.

Another flash, and they were all showered by small chunks of ice.

":_Ah, we're getting something on thermals now_,:" Amy reported, relief heavy in her voice. ":_It's really small, though_.:" She paused. ":_Hasn't he gotten that shape-change under control yet?_:"

":_Guess not_.:" Fate smiled gently and stooped down to grab what she was pretty sure was her friend.

":_So, what was with that smile?_:" Nanoha privately teased her friend.

":_What smile?_:" she deadpanned as she came out of the dive. ":_There was no smile_.:"

":_Oh yes there was!_:" the brunette continued. ":_Raging Heart even got a picture of it!_:"

":_I wasn't smiling_.:"

":_But we_-:"

":There was no smile,:" Fate repeated firmly.

":_Ah... I see, we must have misunderstood_,:" Nanoha said and sweated a bit. Fate was _scary_ when she was angry!

* * *

Ranma groaned softly, opening his eyes to get a blurry look at what was probably a ceiling. '_Where am I?_'

The scene resolved a bit. '_Yep, definitely a ceiling... And I'm tied down. This ain't good_.' A moment of struggle gave him enough slack to earn a view of Arf, in the next bed. '_Well, they probably won't do anything to me with her here_.' A pause as he relaxed, relaxing to let his eyes rest on the ceiling again. '_What is it with this ship and tying me up? Hold on_...' A quick look confirmed that yes, there were indeed wheels on Arf's bed... thing. '_Gotta get out gotta escape CAN'T LET THEM FIND ME!_'

"Oh, Ranma, you're awake."

"Oh God I'm fucked."

Fate blinked. "Excuse me?"

Ranma blushed. "Uh... Did I just say that out loud?"

The blonde nodded and blushed back before giving him a sultry grin. "Why, Ranma, I didn't know you were interested."

"EEP!" He found out that his bunk also had wheels when it came along with him as he dove to the far side of Arf's sickbed with a loud crash. "Owwie..."

Fate blinked. Ranma just seemed to bring out that reaction in her for some reason. She blinked again before losing all control and breaking down in uncontrollable giggles.

"Fate...?" Arf mumbled and twisted to get a look at her mistress. "Are you okay?"

Controlling herself, effort written on her face, she stepped closer and gently rubbed her familiar's cheek. "I am fine, Arf," she confirmed.

"That's good." The currently adult-dog-eared-female closed her eyes. Without bothering to open them again, she asked, "Why is there a wheel on a pole on the other side of the bed?"

"Ranma."

"Ah." After all, that was all that needed to be said.

* * *

"So, Chrono," Ranma asked as he reclined in a chair he had produced from somewhere he had not bothered to explain to them, "why was I tied down?"

"The, uh, ship's doctor thought it was a good idea?" Chrono hazarded. He was currently shackled to the wall, Durandal in staff form and held by Lilith. It looked like she was trying to do a dance of some sort.

"Amy?" Ranma inquired, crossing his legs and tapping what Fate, Nanoha, and Kasumi, with much blushing, had called a "riding crop," likewise produced from places unknown.

Kasumi had shot the boys a few odd looks during that explanation, which had, somehow, irritated _Amy_. It was one of the reasons the brunette was covered by a leather long-coat and tall boots- just where was he getting this stuff, anyway?- and tapping a riding crop of her own against the back of her thigh.

"I don't recall the doctor issuing any orders to that effect," she said frostily.

The Enforcer looked at her, nonplussed. "Well, no, neither of us would," he pointed out. "We were at the debriefing." Shifting back to Ranma, he advised, "The Captain is going to give you a bit of a lecture when she comes back on duty."

One of the pigtailed boy's eyebrows shot up.

"The Captain decided to, ah, indulge in her liquor ration," Amy said, coughing into her free hand. "It seems that the, ah, incident on Un-administered Planet 97 will come under official review."

He shrugged. "So?"

"_So_," Amy drew out, attempting to put as much stress as she could on that single syllable, "it might be that your actions down there just cost her son his career."

"Ah. Whoops." Ranma paused. "And what does that have to do with me being tied down?"

"Nothing," Lilith agreed. "Can I play with him now?"

"Check your medical chart!" Chrono hurriedly interjected. He did _not_ want to go there! Being Lilith's playmate was a Bad Thing.

"My, what an original idea. You know, if the ship's doctor hadn't, you know, _wandered off with it_ or something, you might not be in this situation," Ranma observed.

"He's on quarters. Something about something or other being impossible," Amy added helpfully.

Ranma grunted. "First time he saw my file, right?"

Amy nodded.

"Well, that explains it," he sighed. "You can have him now, Amy. Let's go, Lilith." The pigtailed boy stood and stored his riding crop wherever he had gotten it from before walking out the door to the accompaniment of a girlish squeal of what was probably delight, making sure to seal the hatch behind him after the coat ended up on his head.

"We all must make sacrifices," he smirked to the succubus. He paused. "I wonder what Fate and Arf are doing?"

"Arf should be released from the sick bay later today... if we can ever find that doctor." Lilith was more than a little irritated by that. She rather enjoyed the familiar's company, but not at the price of people who wanted to take her apart to figure out how she worked. She enjoyed a fight as much as the next person, but it got old, eventually. Especially when they made absolutely no effort to learn from their mistakes. In the case of the medics here, it had long since lost its challenge.

On the other hand, she had just gotten a new -pimp cane- ugly stick...

* * *

"Ah, Ranma!" Kasumi exclaimed cheerfully as he stopped in the sick bay. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good. Scientists are trying to figure me out again, though. Ought to be fun. How are your legs?" the boy asked.

"They have improved remarkably quickly," she beamed, stroking the dark cover of what he now knew to be the _Book of the Night Sky_. "Reinforce has been wonderful."

"You've got her crazy problem under control, then?" Lilith wondered.

"We do. We had to rewrite a bit of her to ensure that it will not happen again, but it is fixed. And now, she knows that the fix works, so all she needs to do is obtain her administrator's permission before running the program."

"Well, you can probably get around that by setting up an if-then loop- hold on, you had to _what?_" Ranma demanded.

"We just re-wrote her a bit. It only affected the corrupted data-"

"How many times have I told you, you don't just completely restructure people?!"

"She asked me to!" Kasumi shot back.

"Oh." Having been cut off mid-rant, Ranma quickly jumped to an alternate topic, and Kasumi patiently waited the required two minutes. "Uh. Say, have you seen Fate or Arf?"

"Fate took Arf back to her cabin about half an hour ago."

A cabin that was, of course, on the far side of the ship. Not to mention having to pass by -Amy and Chrono's fun room- the interrogation room again. "Oh. Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma muttered.

"You know, you could just stay here and keep me company..." the girl tried enticingly.

"What did I say about sex?"

"Not until I've grown a pair," Kasumi pouted.

"A pair of _what_?" Ranma pressed.

"But it's been so long since I've seen Ranma-ch-"

"_No_, Kasumi. I am _male_. Skuld and Kami-sama permitting, I will stay that way."

She sighed. "Fine, Ranma, I will wait six or seven years. You owe me, though, do you understand? A girl has needs!"

He rubbed his head and stalked back through the hatch. "_Goodbye_, Kasumi. We'll see you later."

* * *

"Fate, are you there?" Ranma asked, knocking on the frame of the open hatch to the cabin the young blonde and Arf shared; Nanoha would likely also be staying here, but that would be some time down the line. Lilith had gone to "play" with Amy and Chrono. He seriously hoped that the succubus did not start giving Amy ideas, and snapped off a quick telepathic warning to that effect. They needed to be careful, though; with Lilith wandering around this much, even if it was generally accepted by the crew, Ranma had access to more of his power than usual.

"We are, Ranma," she called back. "Please, come in."

He frowned at seeing the giant red wolf with her head in her mistress's lap. "Are you alright, Arf?" She did not normally spend much time in what was more or less her actual form. As much as she had an actual form, anyway.

The familiar opened the near eye to stare at him. ":_I'm fine, Ranma. Just a little tired_.:"

He approached and scratched behind her ears, and her eye closed again. Fate chuckled.

"You know, there are maybe six or seven people that can do that for her." At Ranma's raised eyebrow, she elaborated, "Myself, Nanoha, Lindy-mama, Yuuno, Vivio, Zafira, and Arissa."

"Why Zafira?" he asked, curious.

She shrugged. "They are very much the same, you know," she said softly. "Despite Zafira being a 'Guardian Beast,' that and Mid-style familiars are not all that different. Our familiars are a little more generalized, though. Zafira says that Guardian Beasts are born for combat."

Arf raised her head and stared at the pigtailed boy. ":_Are you going to sit, or are you going to stand there and fidget?_:"

Ranma blinked. "Uh..."

":_Oh, come on, it's not like I'm going to eat you_.:" The wolf shrunk down to puppy form.

"Arf!" Fate exclaimed, "You shouldn't have done that! Your ribs-"

":_Are fine, Fate_,:" the puppy replied. ":_The change of form is absolute. You know that_.:"

"So why were your ribs still messed up when Fate switched you out of humanoid and into your wolf form?" Ranma asked skeptically.

":_Don't know_,:" Arf admitted, climbing onto the blonde's lap. ":_It's never happened before. Now, sit._:"

Ranma sat.

":_Scratch_.:"

Ranma scratched.

After a moment, he asked, "What happens now?"

"We're really not sure," Fate admitted. "There will be an official Board of Review, and Haya- er, Kasumi and the Wolkenritter will likely have to conduct some kind of community service. You and Chrono may, as well. The _Book of Darkness_ incident usually takes about a month, and releasing it like that may have changed some things."

Ranma blinked. "You mean you haven't tried it before?"

"No. There is too much that needs to happen ten years or so from now that we cannot risk."

"Like what?"

"For both Nanoha and I, we need to be able to meet Vivio; I mentioned her earlier. In my case, though, there are also my children, Erio and Caro." After a sharp look, Fate clarified, "They're adopted."

"Ah." Ranma smiled, a little wistfully. "I think I would like to meet them, these children of yours."

"Have you ever had any children?"

The boy tilted his head to the side and sighed. "We're not allowed to."

Fate blinked, and he explained, "Can you even imagine how hard it is, spending hundreds, thousands of years looping like this, all by yourself? If you kept seeing your children cease to exist, then you lose your mind even faster." He closed his eyes and flopped onto his back, feet dangling over the side, the top of his head just brushing the bulkhead.

"There are exceptions, of course," he murmured sadly. "There are always exceptions. It's never any easier, though." He grinned suddenly, and his voice lost its depressed air. "It doesn't help that, back home, your gender and species are more or less optional."

Fate gaped at him. "You're a race of _shapeshifters?!_"

He shook his head and opened one eye. "Nope. We don't have super-science like you do here- I know, I know; you call it magic, but it's the same damn thing. There's a quote out there, in... Huh. Would you believe I don't remember where I heard it? Anyway, it runs something along the lines of, 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is the same as magic.'

"Back home, there's not a lot of real magic. One of the few pieces that's always there- it's one of the things that defines the Loop, really- is a place called Jusenkyou." Sitting up, he continued, "It's a valley over in China, with over a hundred cursed pools of water. When you fall in one, you become cursed to take the form of whatever drowned there every time you get splashed by cold water. Hot water reverses it."

Arf twitched an ear. ":_That's weird. Don't see stuff like that too often. Go back to scratching_.:"

He chuckled and sat back up, dutifully scratching the familiar's ears. "In my base Loop, I fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl."

The blonde tilted her head to one side. "That must be... interesting. What did you look like?"

"A lot like Vita, actually. Only older and with tits."

Fate giggled at _that_ mental image. After a moment, she asked, "How did you deal with it?"

"At first? Badly. Very badly. You don't just stuff a sixteen year-old guy into a sixteen year-old girl's body and expect it to be fine. Completely threw my sense of balance off."

Fate looked at him incredulously. "You turned into a girl and the first thing you noticed was how your _balance changed?!_"

"Nah, that was the second. First was how much shorter I was."

"Shorter?"

"A good head shorter. Makes a big difference, when you're standing in a pool of water. Then the balance, then the boobs."

"How did you end up in the water, anyway? Weren't there warning signs?"

"There was a guy, but we didn't really pay any attention to him. It looked like a training ground, had a whole bunch of bamboo poles sticking up out of the water. It wasn't like we hadn't done that kind of thing before.

"I kicked Pops in, and a panda jumped out. I mean, who the hell expects a panda to jump at you? It knocked me in, we got the guide's spiel, and I started trying to kick my dad's ass. I mean, risking your life for the Art is one thing, but ending up with a curse that means your gender depends on the weather? That's a little much, don't you think? The first few weeks, I was female more than not.

"There are worse curses, though. There's one that turns you into a tiny black piglet."

The girl gave him a long look. "And how do you know this?"

"Someone had it."

* * *

In another universe, a boy with a large backpack and a leopard-spotted bandanna sneezed.

* * *

The blonde mage blinked. "Somehow, I am not surprised."

There was a pause, and Ranma asked, "How often do you get sucked up by that thing?"

"Not very often," she replied softly, gently stroking Arf's side, feeling out her ribs. "Hayate normally does something about it to keep it from getting that bad in the first place."

The boy sighed, gave Arf's ears one final scratch and stood up; he had an interview to go to, now that he was no longer restricted to the sick bay, and Nanoha should be back soon. '_Where is she, anyway?_' "Let me know if it's going to happen again, all right? I don't like it when things like that happen to my friends. Unless, ya know, it's some sort of prank, but rules are different for that."

Fate hesitated, and called out just before he opened the hatch. "Talk to Nanoha. She and Vita do something every Loop- I do not know what, exactly; I have never done it, they don't like to talk about it, and it leaves her in the hospital for a long time- but it always messes them both up pretty bad."

He nodded and walked out. He needed to collect Lilith before the meeting; it would not do to simply blast the panel.

* * *

"Ah, Mister Scrya," the captain said, stirring sugar and cream into her green tea, to his personal disgust, "I had wondered where you were."

"Ranma," he absently corrected her. "Scrya feels like you're talking to someone old."

"You can't tell me that you let this thing run around like this," someone said over one of the videophone panel things they used here for long-range communications.

"This '_thing_,' as you put it, Colonel," another, female, voice irritably stated, "is a ten-year-old boy, regardless of his powers." This one had dark blue hair and dots on her forehead, like Captain Harlaown; maybe it was a rank thing? None of the others did, though, so it might be a personal thing, like a tattoo. He had yet to see a professional military that permitted that, though- some mandated it, and some forbade it, but none of the ones he had run across simply did not care.

"Admiral Lowran, Colonel Gaiz, that is enough," an older voice cut in. "We are investigating his involvement, if any, in the recent incident with the _Book of Darkness_-"

"Its proper name is the _Book of the Night Sky_," Ranma interrupted, and was fixed by a steely glare.

"As I was saying," the old man continued, "we are here to investigate the recent incident and determine what, if any, responses would be appropriate. We are _not_ here to rant and rave about past actions and what should or should not have been done. We are to assess this case and this individual on their own merits, with as little personal bias as possible. _Is that understood?_"

Ranma blinked and made a mental note to never piss off the old man with the beard.

"As you say, Admiral," Captain Harlaown chipped in. "Now, _Ranma_, please start from the beginning..."

* * *

The "interview" was long, boring, took two months, and caused him to repeatedly consider reaching through those windows of theirs and dragging them here in person. If he did that, though, then he wouldn't be able to just disrupt... ah, but if he disrupted the magic, then everything else on the ship would go too, wouldn't it.

He had it from Fate, whose testimony had, for some reason, finished within two hours- he wasn't' allowed to talk to Nanoha, Chrono or anyone else, it seemed, since he might "influence" them- that it took much longer than the sum total would have otherwise. The whole time was spent in Earth orbit, since Kasumi and Nanoha could not be taken to Mid for the Board without stirring up a local outcry, and that, it seemed, was something to be avoided.

"_Ranma Scrya!_" one of the board members snapped- he was pretty sure that this one was a command sergeant major or something similar- "Pay attention! Answer the question!"

"Ah, what question?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.

"How did you create that pillar?" the questioner repeated.

"Side effect of a spell," he repeated tiredly. "You'd think they'd listen the first... I just said that out loud, didn't I."

The board members nodded, and Captain Harlaown sighed.

"_What_ spell?" the man demanded, seemingly determined to get somewhere with this.

"It's called 'Fimbulvetr;' it's a weather control spell; it brings things to near absolute zero temperatures; and no, I won't teach it because it's too easy to lose control of. The only reason I used it _there_ was because we were desperate, Admiral Graham's stasis spell wasn't strong enough, and I had one _hell_ of a lot of help keeping it from going out of control."

"Ah, yes," Colonel Gaiz said sarcastically, "the criminals and the rogues. Including your son, I believe, Captain Harlaown."

"Chrono was there," the named officer acknowledged calmly. "His situation has already been resolved- by this very board, no less, two days past. Ranma Scrya is currently the issue here."

"Regardless, using a spell of that degree of power, at his age and ranking-"

"And who taught it to you?" the man resumed his line of questioning.

"Nobody."

"So where did you learn it? Was it in a book? You don't have a registered Device, you couldn't have learned it from there-"

"I _am_ an archeologist. We find all sorts of strange things."

"Ah, yes," a silver-haired old lady interjected, "you were the one that found the 'Jewel Seed' Lost Logia, weren't you. You have some dig experience, so you have some experience categorizing and classifying things... Not an archivist or a librarian, certainly, but experience is experience, and you are young enough to be trained.

"His Clan is all researchers, of some type, correct? I would imagine that they would find one of their own in a position at the Infinity Library invaluable, and it has needed a new custodian for some time..." The woman trailed off.

"A possible solution, Admiral," Admiral Lowran said. "Have they been contacted for their opinion on the situation?"

Ranma started fidgeting nervously.

"The Scrya are everywhere, it seems," a female non-com observed. "There are three on my research staff alone, apparently, but it also seems that they have no idea where, or even who, their Clan Head is."

A second old man with the insignia he had learned meant "admiral" inquired, "Is there any truth to those reports about his body-double spell?"

"It's a technique, not a spell," the boy grunted.

"There are," Harlaown said, completely ignoring Ranma. "It has made the life of my crew quite... interesting."

"Well, then," the old lady beamed, "it seems we have a solution to our library problem, since he seems to be determined to not answer the question, and we can only do so much to a child."

"Hey!" Ranma snapped. "Don't just decide things for me!"

Lindy clapped a hand over his mouth and did her level best to keep him from biting her fingers. "As it appears to be impossible to reach his legal guardian, it seems we do."

* * *

"The Library's not so bad," Nanoha assured him. "Yuuno spends most of his time there."

"_Yuuno_ is a researcher and a support mage," Ranma pointed out. "_I_ am not."

"You have done it, though," Kasumi reminded him. "In any case, you don't have to spend _all_ your time there, and you haven't simply been drafted, either. You have _kage bunshin_ as well, so as long as one of you is there, they can't say that you've abandoned your duty or anything."

The brunette clapped her hands. "That's right! Doctor Ishida has cleared me to go to school!"

"Congratulations, Kasumi," Nanoha cheered. "You'll be able to meet Suzuka, and Arissa, and-"

"Dunno why you're bothering," Ranma grunted. "Long as you've been around, it's not like you're going to learn anything in elementary school."

"Ranma," the crippled girl said sweetly, "do you even _remember_ elementary school?"

"I never went," he snapped irritably. "You know that."

"Never?" Fate was a little surprised to hear that.

"Well, no, not _never_, but never as myself, and when most Loops start, you're at least twelve, so you're usually in middle school or junior high."

"Then how would you know?" Kasumi pointed out, earning an irritated look.

"Whatever," he muttered.

"You're just sore that you got ordered to clean up someone else's mess." Kasumi smiled. "But think of all of those new techniques and procedures, just waiting for you to discover them."

"That's about the only good part," he admitted. "I still don't like being forced, and if I'm ever in any position to do anything about it, you can be sure that their lives will be hell."

Fate blinked. "All of them?"

"All of them," he confirmed darkly. "After all, all of their documents have to end up somewhere, and _everyone_ has a skeleton in their closet. It's just how many and how big that are different."

* * *

Ranma looked despairingly at the stacks of mixed media and hung his head. It seemed that "library," to these people, really meant something more along the lines of "convenient place to dump the paperwork I don't want on my desk anymore."

"I'm really tempted to just destroy all this," he muttered to Arf, the adult-form familiar standing at the entrance and staring.

She snapped out of her shock and patted his head comfortingly. "Aw, come on, it's not _that_ bad. I mean," she picked up a random report from somewhere in near the top of one of the shortest- ie, coming to his eye level- stacks, "this report has only been sitting here since... wait, _Lieutenant_ Lindy Harlaown?" She blinked. "That can't be right." She double-checked the date. "Wow. Never mind, it is that bad. This thing is older than Chrono."

She tossed it back onto the pile. "Well... we'd better get to work, I gues."

Ranma nodded glumly and manifested two dozen pissed-off Shadow Clones. "All right," he directed, "first thing is to determine what's in... this." He gestured to the mess that appeared to be the floor. "All the natural science stuff, not including technomancy, goes..." he picked a random direction and pointed. "Over there. Make sure to break it out by discipline. Magic, this time including technomancy, goes over there." He pointed in the other direction.

"History, including military operations and intelligence reports, for now, go over there. Try to figure out a way to mark the military stuff separate." He picked a direction about forty-five degrees from the "magic" pile and pointed. "Math goes over there." This one was about forty-five degrees off from the "science" pile and ninety from the one he had decided would be "history;" he didn't think too much will go there that couldn't go in the natural science pile, but hey, better safe than sorry. "Philosophy and religion go over there." This one was to be straight out in front of him, with forty five degrees between the "math" and "history" piles.

"Random literature... Let's stick that and biographies over here. Arf, you and me are gonna go and figure out whatever is supposed to be the filing system here. God, I hope they don't use card catalogs."

* * *

It was several hours before they found what had once been the main desk. Once, because it had broken under the weight of accumulated… Debris was the only real word, Arf had commented- well, something to that effect, anyway; it had come out "Good God, where the hell did all this dust come from? What happened to that stuff that was just here?" The... whatever it had been had, between the sheer weight pressing down on it, the very carefully maintained atmosphere, and suddenly being disturbed, simply disintegrated.

His response? "Hope that wasn't anything important." Either way, they would not know now.

"You'd really think they'd have a better way of storing all this stuff," a passing clone commented. "It's not like they don't have the tech or something."

"Damned if I'm going to scan all of this in, though," another agreed. "That's what interns are for."

"And temps, and lab assistants," the original waved off. "It's gonna be a while before we get any of those. This place has to be useful first."

"Hey, Boss, where do you want us to put the official records?" another yelled.

"Stick 'em up by the biographies!" Ranma shouted.

"I will never get used to that," Arf deadpanned.

The real Ranma Scrya shrugged. "You get used to it. Seriously, though, there's got to be a way to sort this faster."

"We do have magic for that," the familiar pointed out.

Ranma paused, blinked, and then carefully set a book he had just picked up back down. "And when were you going to tell me this?" He glared at Arf.

"Hey, you're the archeologist! Shouldn't you know about that kind of thing?!"

"We don't just automatically sort everything!" the boy snapped. "We have to look at it, find out what it is, what it was with, if it even made sense for it to be there- people have to be involved!"

"And how was I supposed to know this?" Arf defended herself, one hand waving a paper-clipped stack of loose-leaf. "I've never been on a dig or an expedition!"

Ranma stopped mid-rant. "You're right. Sorry," he apologized, rubbing his eyes. "I just don't like to be forced into things."

Arf ruffled his hair with her free hand. "Don't blame you. I don't like it when someone pushes Fate, either."

"Not the same," the boy mumbled, and then frowned. "I think it's about time my security started to work for me, though. Lilith?"

":_On it_,:" the tiny succubus yawned, slowly manifesting. "Do you know how long it's been since I've had a nap?" she asked irritably.

"_You've got mail_," a voice said, and began repeating in an audio loop.

"Dammit!" Ranma cursed. "Why does it have to be voices? Why can't it just be a ringtone or something?!" He glared at the window that popped up.

"What's it say?"

"'Do not attempt to disable the monitoring devices. They are intended for your safety, and we cannot guarantee the outcome of events if you do. Sincerely, The Leadership. PS, we are watching.' Well, fuck that." A finger arched out to stab at a "delete" button. "Re-route those eyes and ears, boys, and then ready the defenses! We might be working for them, but this library is mine!"

The announcement was met with a cheer, and Arf hung her head. "Why me?" the familiar moaned. "I'm a good girl. I do what Fate tells me, don't make a mess in the house, and don't pick fights. Why me?"

* * *

Newly-promoted Brigadier General Regisus Gaiz of the TSA Ground Forces glared at the abruptly-severed security feeds as his tech staff scrambled to recover it. Growling deeply, he cracked his knuckles. Zest Grangaitz, his old friend and ally, had refused to have anything to do with this; as far as he was concerned, the matter with the Scrya was settled. He knew better, though; once a criminal, always a criminal.

And on top of that, this one did not even have the common decency to kneel down and accept his punishment! There must be something wrong with that world; it corrupted mages. Five, including the Harlaown boy, and there were those simulacra attached to one of them.

He glared at the screen, "Transmission Interrupted" flashing on it in red letters.

Something would have to be done.

* * *

Ranma scratched his head. It figured that this place would not use something simple, like the Dewey Decimal Classification. In fact, it looked like whoever was supposed to be in charge of the place had never bothered writing down anything along the lines of where to find things. Dewey system had one major problem, though- there was no place for magic. Not the way Midchildia practiced it.

Sure, there was the Occult section, but that was more for unexplained and strange phenomena. The Technology section was out, too; the books on Devices could go there, but even those seemed to talk more about the theoretical side than the practical. There was no space for it in the Physics or Mathematics classifications, either. Maybe Metaphysics would work better?

The Hogwarts variation, while it addressed traditional magic and theory, did not address technology or even technomancy, making it completely useless.

He sighed and shouted, "Hey, Arf, is there any kind of standard library setup on this world?"

Arf, sifting through another pile on the far side of the atrium that was the entrance to the pocket dimension, looked up and blinked. "I... don't know. Maybe Fate would," she offered. "Her mom- her real mom, I mean- was a researcher before she went psycho-crazy."

"Well, fuck," Ranma grunted. "Guess it's time to make a phone call." He paused. "I wonder if this place has long-distance lines. Oh well, we can always steal them. We should probably have them anyway. We need to be able to get in touch with people, after all."

* * *

"General," another tech worriedly announced, "we've just lost our data lines."

"What?!" the man snapped. "How is this possible?!"

"We were, ah, using the Library's capabilities," the desk sergeant said nervously, rubbing her hands together. "It seems we have been cut off."

"And _why_ were we using the Library's capabilities?"

"They haven't been used in decades, sir," the woman replied. "We weren't the only ones. A lot of the communications firms down in the city rent them out as well. For a government fee, of course."

Regisus simply stared at her. After a few moments, he asked, "Does the new Librarian know about this?"

"He will in a few minutes, sir," a male tech informed him. "We're still getting the feed from outside the building. It looks like the contract's troubleshooters are there." He keyed up a feed from outside the building to the main screen; three informally dressed men were offloading what looked like some kind of electrical equipment from work vans, and one was walking up to the door. "...And it looks like he's changed the locks already." The man briefly pounded on the doors before yelling something down the stairs to the men by the van. The three nodded and pulled... "Are those gun-type Devices?" the tech wondered.

"Well," the General sighed, "we had better get damage control down there. Let law enforcement know that there's an intruder in the Infinity Library." He smiled viciously. "Of course, I'm sure this is just a minor misunderstanding and will clear up by itself. It won't hurt if they take a little bit to get there."

* * *

"So let me get this straight. There has never, as far as you know, been a single standardized library system on Mid by which to organize a library."

"That's right," Fate replied. "Most of Midchildia's libraries are private or owned by the TSAB anyway, so it is somewhat moot."

"So... public libraries..."

"Are not quite unheard of; they are just for general knowledge. If you want to get any kind of depth to your research, you need a research or a private library, and again, those are almost always owned by the administration or by a private corporation."

Ranma grunted. "So where does this pile fit in?" he asked, gesturing at the heaps of media still being processed behind him.

"We talked about this before you left, Ranma," Fate pointed out, sighing. "It would be nice if you paid a little attention once in a while."

"I'm sorry," the boy sniped back. "I was kind of busy plotting revenge on the entire leadership of your government."

"It's your government too," the blonde pointed out. "And they're paying you. You really should not be antagonizing them."

"Well, they shouldn't have forced me," he said grumpily. "Excuse me for not having a complete understanding of how things work in an alien culture I've been exposed to for six months."

"And nine years before that," Fate reminded him.

"Nine years of wandering around dead worlds and in university libraries. It's not like we spent a lot of time in cities. Anyway, how does my library fit in?"

Fate sighed... again. It felt like she had been doing that a lot since she met Ranma. "The Infinity Library is supposed to hold copies of every document ever published or discovered in TSAB space."

Ranma blinked. "That... _almost_ explains the _massive piles of crap_ that were here when I showed up. You'd think that they'd have an archivist for it, though. Even out here in the atrium, it was hard to walk around in here without stepping on books. We're still trying to clear the door into the library itself.

"There was this one little path that led over to the comm room, but it wasn't very wide. That room was trashed, too- it was like someone had tried to completely rewire it."

"Hoy! Boss! There's someone banging on the door! You want us to answer it?" a clone hollered.

"Sure. Just tell 'em we're closed and we ain't doing charity," the original shouted back. "Anyway, it's like people haven't bothered to touch this place in decades," he told Fate, returning to the conversation.

"That's because they have not, Ranma," Fate answered. "The Library has not had an attendant in thirty years. Things pile up."

Ranma flinched, and then his expression hardened. "All clones to the front," he shouted. "Excuse me, Fate," said icily, "it seems that I have pests to deal with. I will talk to you later."

Fate blinked. "Okay… Be careful, Ranma," she said and hung up.

The new archivist grinned evilly and sketched a star-shaped glyph in the air. "Time to trap some mice."

At the front of the atrium, the screams began.

* * *

The fight was quick, dirty, mostly one-sided, and ended up with four semiconscious and broken men on the floor. Just for them, Ranma had experimented with a Binding spell he had found in one of the books- the Eternal Shackle, _Glepnir_.

He was even pretty sure that he could release it.

He needed to figure out a reliable way for his "durable" clones to sense and resist magic, though, especially if he was going to be here a while.

Besides, this was a magic library. If the clones were to be of any use, they had to be able to deal with magic. He was still surprised that the books were not trying to eat the lot of them. Oh well; as long as that -monkey- ape stopped showing up and going "ook" at him.

Dealing with the police had been interesting, though. Until he had produced his letter of appointment, they had treated him like he was the criminal. Afterwards, however, they had been more than a little apologetic. It was kind of funny, really.

* * *

"Who the hell are you, how did you get in, and what were you doing here?" the police-mage sergeant in charge of the scene demanded.

"I'm the Librarian, I run the place, and I work here."

"And I'm one of the Three Admirals. Now, answer the damn questions!"

Ranma sighed; it seemed people would never learn. "I'm the Librarian," he said, struggling mightily to retain his waning patience. Kicking the ass of random cops was always a bad idea. Besides, it would make Fate mad at him.

"Bullshit!" the man roared. "I'd sooner believe they left that familiar in charge! You're just some kid! Just how stupid do you-"

Arf cleared her throat, pulled a rolled-up copy of Ranma's letter of appointment out, and tossed it at the officer. The man snatched it out of the air and unrolled it, ranting the whole way.

"-think I am? I've got you on assault and battery, trespassing on government property, interfering with a public enterprise, interfering with a criminal investigation, and…" The rant trailed off as he took a second look at the scroll. "Hey, Vice, can you pull the office database? I need to confirm something."

A young brunet blinked at him and nodded before pulling up a screen. "What do you want me to ask, Sarge?"

"I need to know who the Librarian is."

"Says it's a guy named Ranma Scrya," the young mage reported.

The officer-in-charge blinked. "Uh. Can you get description?"

"Says he's a nine-year-old boy with black hair and blue eyes."

The older man broke out in a cold sweat. "Um… can I see some ID?"

"Why, of course, Officer," Ranma said in his sweetest-possible-while-still-male voice and produced his screen. When the mage stayed silent, he asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"No," the sergeant hurriedly denied, snapping back to reality, where the most significant body of literature in the TSAB was apparently safeguarded by a nine-year-old. "No, no, not at all." After a few more seconds of staring, he sighed and turned back to Vice. "Better get an ambulance up here. These guys are going to need it."

"Already on its way, boss," Vice answered.

"Good man." He turned back to Ranma. "If I can have a moment of your time, sir, I'm going to need a statement..."

* * *

The man had groveled for the next thirty minutes straight. That had been when Colo- rather, _General_ Gaiz showed up. How had that moron gotten promoted, anyway? He had a stick up his ass the size of Kuno's ego. Ranma could have sworn that he was winding up for an apoplectic fit when he -fell over- found the four "intruders," still being untangled, when he stormed in.

His reaction to seeing other Ranmas, running around and categorizing the different records, had been even funnier. He had even stopped ranting. Well, intelligibly, anyway; say what you like, but he did try.

Seriously, the guy needed to relax. It was not as if he was going to tell that story to _everybody_ he came across.

Just most people. Maybe it would help him get rid of that stick.

He could hope, anyway.

Some TSAB aide had escorted him back outside after a few minutes of frothing at the mouth. Ranma was still unsure about just what the big deal was. The Library was closed- he had made _sure_ the sign was still on the door once the cops had stopped blaming him for doing part of his job. He was supposed to make sure that people did not ransack the place, right?

Whether he liked it or not, it was a duty. It was hardly the first time he had been forced into something, after all- and this would probably be the best place from which make sure they did not make the same mistake again. It certainly seemed to be one of the more defensible locations on the planet.

"Hey, Ranma?" Arf asked from behind him.

The boy jumped eight feet straight up. "Where the hell did you come from?!" he barked, twisting to face her as he came back down.

"I've been here?" She blinked as he continued to glare at her. "What? I have. Anyway, aren't you going to call Fate back?"

The boy sourly muttered, "Suppose I gotta. I said I would, didn't I?" He paused. "Hey, did you get an image capture of that guy's face? I think she'd like to see it."

"Nah, but I can probably pull it off the security recording. You go call. I'll get working on the picture."

They smiled at each other and went about their separate tasks.

* * *

"Ranma," Fate sighed, "you cannot simply traumatize everyone who walks in."

"I don't!" the boy objected. "Just the assholes and the ones who try to break in! Besides, they'll get better... eventually... I think. I've never really seen someone foam at the mouth before, not unless they have rabies or something-"

"My point is, Ranma, that you are a _public official_," Fate said slowly, cutting him off. "You have a duty to the general public. That includes allowing access to data."

"They can get at it after I know what's here," he said pragmatically. "If they had been taking care of this, they wouldn't have this problem, now, would they?" He paused. "Hey, did you know that I'm technically the TSAB's chronicler, too? I mean, I know I can be in a few places at once, but how many hats am I supposed to wear?"

"I'm pretty sure you're supposed to have a staff," his blonde friend pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to have a _budget_, too, but I don't see that money anywhere," Ranma grunted. "Arf's trying to find a picture of General Asshole's reaction. I think you'll enjoy it. You said you had problems with him most of the time, right?"

"Yes, he works with Jail-"

"The mad scientist dude, right?"

"Yes," she sighed patiently, "the mad scientist. Anyway, he works with Jail to make better weapons, and eventually gets backstabbed."

"So... What happens if I get him to retire early?"

"Ranma!" she exclaimed. "I just told you not to traumatize people!"

"I don't have to, Fate. He broke down when he saw the shadow clones." He paused for a moment. "Besides, I didn't mean it that way. I get every record in the TSAB, here. Most of it's not really all that useful, but I get it. If he's out of the picture, what happens?"

Fate, on the far end of the connection, blinked. "I... don't know, Ranma," she murmured.

"Wanna give it a shot?" He grinned madly.

She sighed resignedly. "Let me ask Nanoha first. Can you put Arf on?"

"Uh, sure," he said. "Hey, Arf, Fate wants to talk to you!"

* * *

"He's doing fine, Fate," Arf told the screen. "He spends a lot of time doing these weird dances, says it's to keep himself in shape and helps him think, but that's not new. You know that. How are things going on Earth?"

The front door of the Library creaked open.

"I started school today," Fate answered. "I really do not know if Chrono's assignment here was a good thing. It lets us stay here, but it is too much like a political exile."

"That's because it _is_, Fate," the wolf familiar pointed out. "It might be necessary, since Earth has produced so much trouble in the last seven months. Nanoha, Hayate, and Hayate's guardian are all from there. The Jewel Seeds were lost there. The _Book of Darkness_ showed up there. It's not surprising that the High Council wants one of their best on-scene, just in case. On top of that, Chrono has been there before. He knows how to... well, not blend in, since I don't think he knows what the phrase means, but not draw attention."

"I know, Arf. The crew of the _Asura_ is going stir-crazy, though. They need shore leave, and the Council specifically denied them."

Off toward the front doors, Ranma yelled, "We're closed, dammit! That means no scientists too! Get out!" There was a pause. "No, I'm _not_ a test subject, and I don't give a damn who told you I was. Get out or I throw you out." Another pause. "Okay, that's it! Get out, you purple-haired bastard! Damn scientists are always gigantic perverts..." Ranma trailed off into barely-audible muttering about snakes, ninja, and blondes.

Fate, on screen, blinked, and tried to figure out- from a male perspective- what perverts could possibly have to do with snakes. "What was that about?"

Arf shrugged. "No idea. Some guy seems to insist that Ranma's supposed to be floating in a test tube in his lab. He'll get the clue eventually. Anyway, why were the crew denied leave? It doesn't make any sense, and they've got to know that it's bad for morale."

Fate sighed. "I think that might be why." She elaborated, "The Council seems to have decided that Unadministered World Nintey-seven is... dangerous, that it draws trouble. The fewer people that have to deal with it directly the better. By restricting it to individuals who have already been there..." She trailed off.

"They keep the risk down," Arf finished, sighing. "So why's Ranma still here?"

Fate shrugged. "They needed an archivist."

* * *

Ranma frowned as he tossed the golden-eyed scientist out. _Again_. He really needed to upgrade the security on this place- the sonic alarms did not seem to do much, and the magical ones that had been here when he arrived were apparently useless. On top of that, one of the clones had found the bastard sitting in a pile of records that apparently included the trait-tagged gene maps of every citizen of the TSAB, including himself.

He was unsure of which discovery was more disturbing.

It was bad enough to know that your government had files on you. Knowing what was in those files could arguably be worse, especially when it contained a full genetic workup and conditions required for... certain outcomes. There were ones for different cancers... and there were ones for children with certain traits. That list referenced an annex that was a directory of individuals whose children would produce those traits.

_They had no right_.

Ranma's left hand spasmed around the scabbard of a sword that was not, strictly speaking, there. Not in a physical or magical sense, anyway. That irritated him further, lifting the sheathed blade and staring at it. He had not called for it...but here it was. At least it was not the mask; that would have been worse. He sighed and let it fall; it dissipated before it hit the floor.

The Library was mostly organized now. Upgrading security- again- would be next, and then working this Loop's magic into the clones, so they could be useful here… and then figuring out what was going on with his powers.

At least he would be able to go to the hanami with Nanoha, Fate, and Kasumi back on Earth in a few weeks. Talking to someone over what was basically a webcam was never the same as talking to them in person, after all.

Maybe, while he was there, he could pester Nanoha into letting him make that general's life hell.

* * *

Fate, standing in the transportation room of the _Asura_, bounced lightly on her toes. Ranma and Arf were supposed to be arriving in the next hour or so for the hanami a few days hence. She smiled; the last time they had seen each other in person had been just before he had left for Cranagan on Mid.

"Fate," Amy called, "calm down! It's not like he'll get here any faster." Her adoptive prospective sister-in-law had changed a little recently. She seemed more... self-assured. Not that it was really a problem before, but she was a little more dominant now.

It had certainly gotten Chrono's attention.

The platform flickered, and the blonde abandoned that line of thought. As soon as the process was complete, she pounced on the new arrival. "Ranma!"

Rocking back from the force of the tackle, the named individual shot a slightly disturbed look at Amy, who shrugged. He sighed and patted her on the back. "Hi, Fate. That's almost something I'd expect from Nanoha."

The blonde smiled at him. "She told me to, since she could not be here. Besides, someone has to take up the slack."

Letting go of the boy, she drew her familiar into a much gentler hug. "I am glad that you are back, Arf," she said.

"So am I, Fate," Arf replied, gently stroking Fate's hair.

"Anyway, the next trip is planetside, right?" Ranma asked, earning a nod from the short-haired brunette.

"Our next window is..." she paused to consult a window, "in half an hour. You're lucky; we should be able to get you settled in before night."

Ranma blinked at that. "Uh... where am I staying?"

"With Nanoha, of course. I suggest you go ferret now, by the way; better to not give the locals any more ideas." The teen looked disapprovingly at Fate and Ranma, pointedly reminding them of that incident with Arisa and Suzuka.

The group ignored Ranma's wince at that particular suggestion. "Aren't they going to wonder when a ferret turns into a boy for the hanami? Especially that doctor of Kasumi's?" Arf asked. _She_ was going in puppy-form, and had no particular worries in that direction.

Amy smiled devilishly. "Well, then, you'll just have to stay with Fate, won't you."

He winced again. Time to change the subject. "Hey, Fate," he whispered, "have you shown Nanoha that video clip yet?"

His blonde friend blushed. "No, not yet," she admitted. "It is too interesting. I do not think she would be able to keep quiet about it."

Ranma considered that. "No probably not," he agreed. "Still be funny, though."

A hand landed firmly on the boy's head. "Oh, Ranma," Amy said sweetly, "what are you saying to our dear Miss Fate to make her blush so?"

"Uh, just asking her a question," he tried, making an attempt at innocence.

It did not noticeably do anything. "And what was this question?" Amy asked, her fingers curling into a fist in his hair.

"If she'd shown Nanoha a video I sent her..."

"_And what was this video?_"

Panicky blue eyes motivated Fate to step in. "It was one of the visitors to the Library making himself look stupid." She paused, smiling slightly. "More stupid, anyway." The smile grew, and Amy's hand relaxed slightly. "Nanoha, Chrono and I all have experience with this particular individual; he is a particularly hard-line warhawk. Anything that would make him change could not help but be for the better."

Fate's smile turned into chuckles. "Anyway, he was supposed to be in charge of security for the Infinite Library, but there were some intruders, and when the local police forces- not his security forces- arrived, they found the intruders all tied up, since they had tried to hurt Ranma." She frowned momentarily, but almost immediately started giggling again. "When the Ge- uh, when the visitor came, he fell on the intruders and had a fit." The giggling turned to laughter.

A minute passed, and she realized that everyone was staring at her, disturbed looks on their faces. Amy had even almost let go of Ranma's hair. The laughter trailed off, and she stared back. Another minute passed. "What?"

"You were laughing, Fate," Ranma flatly replied.

"You _never_ laugh like that," Arf agreed. "Giggles are one thing, but not like that. Are you feeling alright?" She laid a hand on Fate's forehead, testing the temperature. "You're not sick, are you?"

"I am fine, Arf. Am not allowed to laugh?" She glared at the others.

"No, no, not at all," Amy said hurriedly. "You can laugh however you like."

"Unless you start cackling," Ranma added. "That's just creepy, and I might zap you on principle."

"Ah." Fate coughed lightly into her hand. "Anyway. It really was funny. I suppose you have to see it."

"I... see." Amy's fist tightened again. "And is there a reason that you would have the security footage?"

Arf looked at her like she was a moron. "He's the Librarian, Amy."

Amy blinked and blushed lightly, releasing her hold on the boy's hair and patting it back into place. "Ah. Yes. I'm sorry, I... forgot."

* * *

"Now, Mistress," Shamal lectured, "must stay bundled up. It isn't that warm yet, and we do not wish for you to catch a cold. You still get tired easily, too, so-"

The last comment earned a snort from Signum, sitting on the couch. "She is hardly delicate, Shamal."

"Yes she is," Shamal insisted, staring levelly at the pink-haired Knight. "Doctor Ishida-"

"Doctor Ishida is still trying to figure out how shiatsu works," Kasumi sighed, easing away from Shamal's fussy hands. "It is not as though it were magic."

"Might as well be," Signum grunted. "Tap a person here, in such a way, and their body does this. Touch it like that, and something completely different happens."

"It is simply the manipulation of the body's natural energies. People on this world have been doing this for millennia. There is not a single mystic thing about it," the Mistress of the _Book of the Night Sky_ sniffed. "It is entirely scientific."

"Because sticking big needles in someone's thigh will make them run faster," Signum muttered.

"Only that leg, and only if it is done in the right spots for the right amounts of time," the brunette corrected. "Seriously, you four are the corporeal manifestation of the pieces of a spell. One would think that you would be more open-minded."

"It is not that we disbelieve, it is more that we do not believe that is science," the blonde tried comfortingly. "We have been around a lot longer than you have, Mistress, and have seen a lot more..."

"Oh my. I suppose that means that if a thing is not science, it must be magic?"

"Well, that is not quite..." Shamal trailed off, staring at a glowing ball of light floating in Kasumi's hand. She blinked, and consulted Klarerwind. "It is not magic," the Knight of the Lakes wondered.

Signum rose off the couch to poke at it. "It's warm... What is it?"

"I keep saying that there is more than science and magic in the world," Kasumi said, smiling gently. Staring at the ball, she frowned lightly before shaking her hand to disperse it. "I must be out of shape. Maybe Ranma could suggest something while he is here."

"That is hardly necessary," Signum objected. "Even were Mistress to need such a thing, we Knights-"

"Do not hold a candle to him," she pointed out. "You saw what he did to the Defense Program. Before that, he put down Reinforce by himself."

"Did not Takamachi use that breaker spell of hers?" the Sword Knight asked.

"Well, yes," their mistress admitted, "but it was almost over by then. He used a technique that drains away the opponent's power."

"Poison, then," Signum said dismissively. "That is hardly-"

"Not poison," Kasumi corrected firmly. She rubbed her forehead and sat down on the couch. "Oh, dear... I hesitate to suggest this, but it might be simpler for you to spar against him."

"Hey, Kasumi," Vita exclaimed, bounding in from the kitchen, "we need to get going! Everyone is going to meet up soon!"

"Ah, you're right," Shamal enthused, clapping her hands together. "We need to hurry!"

* * *

"Ranma!" Nanoha exclaimed, pouncing on him.

Well, she tried to, anyway. She passed right through the boy, landing flat on her face.

"Told ya she'd do it anyway." Ranma, another five feet off, smirked at Fate.

"I did not say that she would not," Fate retorted.

"How do you keep doing that?!" Nanoha demanded, pulling herself off the ground.

"Energy clone and body replacement," he replied. "Go figure it out yourself."

"No~o," she whined. "I wanna know now!" The brunette latched onto his leg, one hand slowly sneaking higher. "I can pay..."

"Hey! Hands off!" Ranma snapped. "You don't have touching privileges!"

Fate just hung her head. When Nanoha was in one of her moods, there was not much to be done about it.

"Nanoha, what are you doing to that poor boy?" Momoko cried.

Fate blinked. Apparently, she was wrong; Nanoha was willingly- _willingly!_- letting go of Ranma's leg and going to her mother's side.

"Nanoha, what have we told you about touching people in public?" the older brunette berated the younger.

"Not until I'm at least sixteen and on the second date," Nanoha sighed. "But mom-"

"No buts, young lady. We're here to enjoy the cherry blossoms, not get you arrested."

Fate blinked again. Somehow, that just did not sound right.

Ranma, on the other hand, just sighed. Some things never changed.

* * *

Chrono stared despondently at the pan over the burner. He couldn't believe that he was cooking yakisoba. _Again_. It was not as though he was especially good at it or anything, so why did they keep choosing _him_?

"Order's up," he shouted at Miyuki. "Where is Amy, anyway?" he muttered. "Here you go," he said absently, flipping the noodles onto an outstretched platter and reloading the pan.

"Thanks," Ranma told him. "Okonomiyaki might be a better idea, though. You're almost out of noodles."

"Thanks. What's okono-? Ranma? When did you get here, ferret-boy?"

"Stop calling me ferret-boy," he said through a mouthful of yakisoba. "Haven't transformed since that damn board of inquiry of yours. An' whadda you mean, you don't know okonomiyaki?"

Chrono shook his head bemusedly.

"How long've you lived here, put together?"

The Enforccer blinked and thought for a moment. "Eight or nine months, I guess."

"An' you don't know what okonomiyaki is." Ranma swallowed his noodles. "Bet Ucchan'd flip if she heard that. Probably stuff one right down your throat." He slurped up another mouthful.

"I don't- hey! Aren't you going to answer my question?"

"Nope. Your noodles are burning."

"Gah! Dammit, ferret-boy, this is all your fault!"

Ranma grinned nostalgically. "Not quite right. You're getting there, though." He patted Chrono on the shoulder. "Looks like Amy finally showed up. Time for me to go, then." The younger boy wandered off, plate in hand.

"'Bout time you showed up, Amy. We were almost out of ingredients..."

* * *

'_Hm. Now to find a tree, up and out of the way_

…'

"Ah, it'sh th' new Librarian. I's been lookin' fer you," a familiar voice slurred, and a pair of arms linked around his neck. "How's you been?"

He winced as a puff of alcohol-ridden breath made its way in front of his face. "Admiral Lowran, you're wasted, aren't you."

"'M not!" she insisted, pulling him back against her. One hand- the one not holding the bottle, Ranma noted- idly began stroking his chest. At that point, escape became a priority. Escape and future blackmail.

"Aren't I a little young?" he asked bluntly, making sure he had a firm grip on his food.

"Dunno," she giggled. "Lot older'n you look." The free hand began stroking lower.

'_Okay. Escape now_.' Ranma pulled an old favorite out of his Bag o' Ninja Tricks for the second time that day- the good old body replacement technique. For this one, he borrowed a cactus from one of the worlds in his pocket universe.

If only he had the time to find one that was mildly poisonous. Ah, well, no loss, right?

Between the Admiral grinding herself against a cactus and the image captures his clones were supposed to be doing, he was fairly sure that her career was in the palm of his hand.

It was not like anyone in her family was important anyway, right?

* * *

"Hi, Kasumi," the nine-year-old said. "Hi, book-people."

"Hello, Ranma," Yagami Kasumi replied. "It is nice to see you." The Wolkenritter magnanimously ignored the "book-people" comment in favor of trying to size him up.

"How are your legs?" he inquired politely.

"I still get tired easily," the brunette admitted. "Perhaps... That reminds me. Signum and Vita want to spar."

Ranma blinked, and shrugging, said, "Well, just have them come by the Library next time they're around. One of me should be able to watch the place."

The redhead smirked. "No way you can be as good as she says. I've already beaten you."

"No you didn't," Ranma corrected. "Her hole-in-space thing did." He indicated the blonde Knight, who blinked.

"Excuse me?" she asked, startled. "When was this?"

"When you pulled the sparkly thing-what do you call them, Linker Cores?- out of Nanoha's chest." He frowned at Shamal. "You have no idea how much the feedback from that hurt."

"What are you, her Guardian Beast or something?" Vita blurted.

Ranma just laughed. "You're kidding, right? I was trying to find her." He flicked a thumb at the Mistress of the Night Sky.

Vita blinked. "No..." she said slowly, "I'm pretty sure you were fighting me."

Another three Ranmas popped into being. "Was I?" he asked.

"But- how- but-" the diminutive redhead spluttered.

He smirked. "Just 'cos I'm in one place doesn't mean I can't be in another."

"...Is that not part of the definition?" Signum asked.

"Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle as applied to Ranma," Kasumi pointed out.

After a minute, Shamal worked up the nerve to ask, "What?"

"You can know where he is or how fast he is moving, but not both at the same time," the brunette clarified.

"I am fairly sure he is not going anywhere right now, Mistress," Zafiria said carefully. Like Arf, he had assumed puppy-form for the hanami. Unlike her, he was less than willing to be handled. "And I can see, sense, and smell where he is."

"Do you really know which one he is?" she asked curiously. "The only way I know of to figure it out is to try to beat one until it dissipates, and that is usually more trouble than it is worth, since he does not cooperate."

"...And on that note, I'm going to find someone else to talk to," the boy opined. "Look me up in Cranagan sometime, Vita, Signum."

* * *

The yakisoba had been good enough for seconds, since they had ingredients to spare- now. He really needed to talk to Nanoha- well, to show her the video, anyway, and while her family knew about him (well, kind of; they knew that he had been the ferret) so as long as their group was not sitting with that doctor and Suzuka and Arissa's families... well, damn.

Oh well. It was not all that surprising; their daughters, except for the doctor, were all friends, after all. He would have time later.

That was, if he could keep away from Admiral Shotacon. It was the first time in... who knew how long that he had _that_ particular problem. Lolicons? Occasionally. Little girls attaching themselves to him? Somewhat more often. Okay, a lot more often... disturbingly so. Seriously, was there a school newsletter or a gossip chain to spread the news about him? They were worse than teenagers! Nanoha, Yachiru, Neliel, Chibiusa... The list just wouldn't stop! Why wouldn't they go bug someone else?

* * *

In a lab on Mid, a silver-haired cyborg sneezed. She scrubbed at her nose with a free hand and went back to practicing knife throwing.

* * *

At least he was getting plenty of blackmail material out of this.

* * *

He absently dispersed the most recent set of shadow clones. They did not have the spark of magic, either. What was it that made it so special? He sat down near the base of a tree and crossed his legs.

If the original AI of the _Book of the Night Sky_- "Reinforce," it called itself- had been available, he would have asked it. Unfortunately, while it _was_ here- the book was in one of the bags Kasumi's knights had brought- this was neither the time nor the place. There were all these people who knew nothing about magic, for starters- Arisa's and Suzuka's parents, and that doctor.

Fate, trailed by Arf, wandered over and sat down delicately on the grass next to him, carefully folding her legs to keep passersby from seeing up her skirt. Arf, without a second thought, flopped down in her lap.

"Why are you out here all by yourself?" the blonde asked quietly.

"Trying to figure out something," he grunted. "This Linker Core stuff is weird."

":_He's been trying to make his fake people able to use magic_,:" Arf clarified.

"Well, I can see where that would be helpful," Fate murmured, "but I have never seen a spell that does what you do. Teana's illusions come close, but they do not have the memory or physical components, and are not really casting spells..."

"Illusions, huh..." He paused. "What's the name of that spell?"

"Teana's? Its name is 'Fake Silhouette,' but I cannot see how that would help. They have to be controlled by the spellcaster..."

"Maybe, but it's a starting point," he noted. "I have something like that back home; it's called 'Splitting Cat's Hairs,' and is based on speed. It's pretty useful, if all you need is a distraction. Memory and the like can come later. The important bit for the next step is making sure that I don't have to pull the wires."

"Like marionettes?" Fate wondered. "That would improve things quite a bit," she agreed after a moment. "If you can get them to that point, I might be interested in learning it myself."

He leaned back, resting on his arms, and looked up through the petals. "When I do, I'll teach you. It shouldn't take too long. Just hope I can put the two types of clones together."

":_You will_,:" Arf said confidently. She yawned and curled into a ball.

Fate smiled and gently stroked her familiar's fur. "She's right, you know. You will."

"Of course I will," he said, a trace of indignation coloring his voice.

"Relax, Ranma," she sighed, leaning against his shoulder.

After a few minutes, he asked, "Do you think Nanoha's away from her folks yet? We need to show her that video."

"I would not think so," the blonde mage replied. "Despite the length of the Loop, we see our families only rarely. She would spend time with her parents while she can."

Ranma looked at her askance. "Really? Why not just stay here?"

"Do you not think that she has tried?"

"One of those fated things, then. Not much you can do about those. I'm glad I don't have to deal with many of those. Makes life easier."

"Fated?" she asked.

"One of the things that has to happen and will, no matter what you try to do about it. Most of 'em completely suck, and it's a pain in the ass because there's not much you can do about it."

"Like Vivio getting kidnapped, then," she noted.

"Huh?"

"Vivio always gets kidnapped by someone. Always. It does not matter what we put in place to prevent it, it still happens."

"Yeah, like that, then," he agreed.

* * *

From there, the conversation had turned to the hanami itself. Fate had warned him off of breaking the Admiral permanently; something about needing to be able to work with a guy named Griffith, whoever _that_ was.

It would be nice if they gave him more than general information, especially if they did not want him to screw up some plan of theirs.

She had given him a new direction for research, though- an ancient gizmo called "The Saint's Cradle." He was pretty sure that she had not been aware of it; they had been talking about their families again. She had touched her mothers, Chrono, Erio, Caro, Nanoha, and Vivo- that was where the tidbit about this "cradle" thing had come from. On the other hand, he had spoken of his parents.

Well, the panda, mostly; being raised by a mother- especially his "real" mother, the one from his home Loop- was relatively rare, and usually only happened when "he" had been born a "she." Those Loops were downright disturbing, and he usually ended up ditching them almost as soon as he Awoke.

It took him at least a few minutes to orient himself, after all.

Even then, the problem was not that he was female; it was the men to whom _she_ had been engaged. One of these Loops, he would finally break the Old Man of that particular habit.

Maybe it would even stick.

He shrugged to himself. Maybe now would be a good time to work on those magic clones. He could already do some illusions, thanks to his background as a support mage; this would simply be a variation of that.

* * *

"Ranma!" Nanoha squealed, bouncing into him from behind and grabbing tightly. "How's the hanami? Are you having fun? Fate said you brought me something can I see it can I canIcanI huh?"

He twitched and unwound her arms from around his neck. "You've been into the sugar again, haven't you."

"Uh-huh! Admiral Leti gave me some wine, too. It was a little sour, but I liked it! So she gave me more!"

The pigtailed boy rested his head in his hands. '_On a sugar high_ and _drunk. Just what I need._' He took a calming breath. "Nanoha, how do you feel about General Gaiz?"

"He's a meanie! He tried to sabotage Hayate and worked with Jail and the brains in tanks and hurt Subaru and Ginga's momma and Zest, and they're all really nice even if Zest does try to blow up the Ground Forces HQ. That's okay, though, because the Ground Forces are all really weird, except for Major Nakajima and his family, but they're special, and explosions are-"

"How would you like to play a trick on him?" he interrupted. He had made the mistake of letting her talk about explosions before- and that had been when she was _sober_.

"-can make things go 'boom!' with Raging Heart! And I wanna make General Gaiz go boom-"

And she wasn't listening. He sighed and tried again. "You can't make General Gaiz go boom, Nanoha, you need him later, you said so. We can make sure things don't go like he plans, though, right?"

"Sure! Jus' lemme ask Fate 'cos if peoples get hurt because of something she gets angry and when she gets angry things don't go boom they go zap and going zap hurts. I know 'cos-"

"Fate told me to ask you, Nanoha, so that means it's okay. I've got a video for you to watch later." He tucked a CD-shaped object into her hands and tried to hope that she would not lose it before she sobered up or made it home, whichever came first. He had even labeled it "For Nanoha, from Ranma and Fate."

With any luck, she would be sober and not decide it was a porno before she watched it. That way, he would not have to deal with her whining about not being invited to orgies. _Again_.

Damn. She was worse than Hiroshi and Daisuke.

* * *

Two random and heretofore unnamed Engineering techs on the _Asura_ sneezed.

* * *

OMAKE

While Ranma-original fetched Fate, the Clones had finally cleared the entrance to the Library proper.

It was big. It was dark.

It was covered in banana peels.

One intrepid clone was brave enough to step inside the dark maw, carrying only a light powered by whatever it was that Mid used in place of batteries. Past the piles of peels were piles of fresher bananas.

"Ook."

Among the peels was a giant orange monkey, and past them were the massive shelves of the Infinity- "Hey, where'd the monkey come from?"

"Ook!"

"Dammit, you're not supposed to be here! Get out, monkey!" the clone insisted.

The monkey calmly, and much faster than it should have been able, lashed out to grab the clone and tried to break its arm.

"Um, what are you trying to do?" he asked it.

"Ook? Ook!" the monkey explained, tugging harder on the joint.

"Hey, guys," the clone yelled, walking back toward the entrance, "Look what I found!"

The other clones gathered round. "Wow! It's a monkey! Can we keep it?" seemed to be the consensus.

The two-hundred-seventy pound orangutan pulled harder on his clone's arm, bringing his feet into play in an attempt to force the joint. It did not noticeably do anything, and it eventually gave up. He sighed, waddled over to Arf, and tugged on her skirt.

"Eh?" Arf asked, looking down from her conversation. "Oh, it's an orangutan. Hold on, what's one of those doing here?"


	4. Chapter 4: A's to StrikerS

The rest of the hanami had been fairly uneventful, mostly because he was able to keep away from Admiral Lowran. Seriously, what was _with _her?

He and Nanoha had bugged Fate into singing. She had a pleasant voice, as it turned out. They had then tried to force him to, but that had not gone over nearly as well. Mostly because, as Kasumi pointed out, in his birth gender the proverbial bucket might as well have been made of mesh- and he had absolutely _no_ intention of going girl.

No matter how much Fate and Kasumi asked.

Or Nanoha, or Vita, or... How, exactly, had all these people found out about it? Kasumi should have known better than to mention it. Should have; she had been bearing tales, obviously. Fate... well, Fate told Nanoha almost everything; it explained her, at least. But everyone else?

Okay, he was a shape-shifter and did not use much magic to do it. It was a stupid, generally useless little magic, and even in combat situations, potentially a tremendous liability. After all, the Sailor Scouts and the Senshi had damn near _fixated_ on Tarou, those first few Loops. That had been- according to Tarou, at least- incredibly frustrating.

The girls had always had a smile, though.

It was one of the reasons he refused to make a big deal about the shape-change. He had enough problems with just the one species-gender pairing. He really did not want to think about opening it up. After all, you could find just about anything at Jusenkyou, if you looked hard enough, and he had spent -centuries- -millennia- a really frikkin' long time there.

In the last three weeks, it had become necessary to set up special redirects and exceptions in the anti-teleport spells and the other Library security systems just so as not to leave them somewhere dangerous. They could take care of themselves, but it was better to just not be in that situation in the first place, and they could visit as long as they called ahead.

It was why he had moved out of his apartment and into the library. He had billed it as being for "better security," but it had boiled down to getting tired about getting soaked every time he walked in his door. Even with his resources, top-notch security systems were far from cheap... and there was only so much he could do to the building itself.

He had been tempted to just his old building out, but that would lead to questions- where the money had come from, what was he going to do with the extra space, and since you have so much, can we live there? None of which were good, in his opinion. Not [i]bad[/i], necessarily, just not good. It would have been different if his new spell-clones had been good enough to last a full day or if the building maintenance systems had been more physical than magical.

Still, it was not terribly difficult to move what little he had into what had been one of many spare storerooms in the Library. Ranma Scrya, much like himself, had not kept much beyond what was necessary. The books would have taken a while, though, except for the good old tricks of Hidden Weapons. The Library itself seemed to grow as well the more items were added to its collection.

It was something he had to think of. Now, though, it was time to practice.

Ranma took a deep breath and took a ready stance, flowing into a simple kata, taking it slowly. Five slow breaths in, five slow breaths out; advancing with a right hook as it inched along, letting his shoulder "pull" his hip like it would have, had there been any kind of speed or force behind the blow. As the fist came back to guard, he went up on his toes, and the left hip continued the rotation of the right. He spun; the leg came up, slowly becoming a head-high hook ki-

That he fell out of as a clone's memories slipped into him. "Damn," he grunted, picking himself back up. The clone had been self-dissipated; it had been concentrating on that, and so he took his time. It seemed that he had a -victim- -guest- customer.

* * *

The visitor, he learned as he sorted out the memories, was a purple-haired woman that claimed to be with the TSAB ground forces criminal investigation division. This was immediately reinforced as sixty kilos of panicky, babbling female slammed into him.

"Ohmigod there was this guy who said he was a librarian and I told him what I needed and he nodded and said I needed _the_ Librarian and he stabbed himself with a pen and he went 'poof!' Did I do something wrong? I didn't mean to, it was an accident and- hey, you're him!"

"Yes, yes, magic is a wonderful thing. Now can you get off my chest?"

It took a minute or so for that to process, and then she bolted upright, smoothing her skirt back down.

"You wanted access to the restricted documents, right?" he sighed.

"Um, yes." She presented her ID for his inspection, and he took it.

"Quint Nakajima?" She nodded, and he grunted. "Follow me. I'm going up to the front counter to verify this. It'll take a few minutes." She nodded and followed him to the front.

He absently inserted the card into a slot on the desk, activating a seal and bringing up a pair of glowing spell panels, one in front of him and one in front of Quint. He instructed, "Put your hand on the pad," and demonstrated.

Once she had, he announced, "Verify subject: Quint Nakajima. Authority: Ranma Scrya." In an aside, he commanded, "Stay still."

She blinked as a ring of light formed around her. "Uh..."

"_Subject verified: Enforcer Quint Nakajima_," the Library's security system announced.

"It _talks_?!"

"Says the lady with talking roller blades."

"They're not- wait, so this is a Device?"

"Not exactly, but close enough."

"_This one is Library Security_," the thing intoned.

"And no," he sighed, "he's not an AI. He's closer to a Storage Device, although he doesn't run on magic... well, not primarily."

"_Having a single power source is not desirable_," the Library agreed. "_Subject Enforcer Quint Nakajima's current case load indicates need-to-know for subjects relating to current combat cyborg programs_."

"Combat cyborgs, huh?" Ranma mused. "A little weird, for a world that says it's all magic, but you never know, after all. It'd prove me right about the physics thing, though, if I could get Nanoha to admit it."

"Physics thing? What does..." Quint shook herself out of her shock. "You turned the _Library_ into a Device! Was that what the you-that-went-poof was?"

"Are you still hung up on that?" the boy asked. "The Library was like this when I got here, I just upgraded it a little, and as for the other, it's a technique. Anyway, aren't you here for your research? I should probably get back to my kata."

The purple-haired woman blinked again. The double, the Library, and now kata- what _was_ this boy- was he an artificial mage?

"The records you want are kept in a secure location." He gestured, and another _him_ appeared out of thin air.

"I will take you to a reading room," the new one told her.

The other one said, "Don't be surprised when he dissipates after you get there. I need to know which one you're in, after all."

She stared as the Librarian walked off and barely managed to follow the new one as it moved off in another direction. "What are you?" she asked cautiously.

It looked back over her shoulder. "Me? I'm a fylgja."

"A what?" she asked.

It sighed and turned its head to watch its path. "A spell-clone. You need magic to do so much here that for most things, normal shadow-clones don't work." It snorted. "How do the non-mages here even function, anyway?"

Quint took a moment to consider that. "I don't think I've ever met anyone without _any_ magic," she said consideringly. "We've been using it for so long that everyone has at least some, even if it's not very useful."

It muttered, "Evolution on social imperatives, huh?" It paused in its progress before turning off the main aisle to the right. "Gotta love how that works."

"It's not," she insisted. "Magic is-"

"A trait that is not entirely necessary, except in a social setting," he cut her off. "The only reason I have magic is because..." He hesitated, again altering course somewhat to follow along a wall. "Is because I've soaked it up from outside sources."

"Like that Yagami girl?" the soldier asked.

"No," he sighed, "not at all. Although I suppose it might look a little like that. I've spent too much time around magic to not have some." He stopped, resting a hand on the wall, and a glowing hole appeared. "Here we are. You'll have as much time as you need." Like the one from earlier, it pulled out a pen and stabbed itself. Unlike the one previous, it vanished in a muted flash of light.

She stared for a moment at what had been a somewhat disturbing sight. She shrugged and went inside.

* * *

Sorting through the documents, he considered the remaining pile. An index, a specialized dictionary, and a selection of the analyses of the mental, physiological and magical effects of the combat cyborg program. Interestingly enough, he had both the projected and actual analyses of the program. It had been, on first blush, something of a surprise, given that the most recent of the rare _public_ documentation had said that any kind of testing was years down the road.

Then again, this _was_ the government they were talking about. There were connections to rather unsavory individuals and practices. The name "Jail Scaglietti" had come up more than once in his search, and he made a mental note to look into him. So had his guest's, and it became yet another topic for later.

'_Yes_,' he decided, sweeping the stack into Stuffspace, '_this is a good starting point_.'

It wasn't like she couldn't ask for more.

* * *

Quint ended up coming back several times over the course of the next several months. She even brought one or the other of her daughters occasionally, although they were almost always sick when she did.

They had a little too much of Quint in them for his taste, to tell the truth, although he made sure not to mention that to any of the three females. If all combat cyborgs felt like this against his senses, though, he had at least learned something.

When he had mentioned them to Fate, she had commented that the girls would be "important." As usual, though, she had to try to go and pull the Dumbledore puppet-master act. It was just as annoying when she did it as the old bastard did, but she looked cuter doing it.

It would not have been hard, but she managed.

The younger one, Subaru, always stayed right next to her mother. She would sit there and read children's books- at first ones that she brought with her, and later ones that her mother would ask him to get. These were almost always common items in the collection, popular folk tales and similar, and he always had multiple copies, so he allowed those to be checked out. Subaru herself, though, only rarely spoke to him, whispering something in Quint's or her older sister Ginga's ear if she had anything to say.

Ginga, though, he had to keep an eye on. She was almost the exact opposite of Subaru, rarely staying and reading. Instead, she went and found an abandoned bit of the library to practice odd little kata in. If she had ventured into the stacks, he would have stopped her, but she never did; she followed the walls outside the room until she found an abandoned reading room, moved the furniture to the edges, and began practicing.

The first few times this happened, one of his clones stayed to watch her while another went to tell Quint. He had assured her that she was not being any more a bother than Quint herself and would be kept from danger, and then let Library Security watch Quint. If the girl was running kata- or even just throwing moves together- she needed some sort of supervision, and the Security program wasn't up to it.

It would hardly do to have the Library... pacify a young girl, after all. Even if all it used were nonlethal measures.

That did not mean she had to know that he was there, though. He would let Quint handle breaking that particular piece of news; she knew he was some sort of high-end mage and had a network of mixed wards and spells monitoring the premises. As he could tell, she had no idea of his other skill-sets: a good thing, in his mind. He had made a point of obfuscating as much as possible in his public profile, and he lived at the Library. Aside from his paychecks, impulse buys and groceries, he lived almost completely off the map.

The whole not-letting-Ginga-know-about-him thing lasted three whole visits.

That day had been particularly busy. In addition to his private research- magic in general, and lore on the artifact Fate had called "the Saint's Cradle" and ancient Belka specifically- he had another ten visitors on official business when Quint and dropped by, Ginga in tow. Most of them were reviewing records for one bureau or another; there was one individual reviewing census data, for example, and another was writing a theory paper on creating spells that concentrated magic externally and the effects thereof on the human body. The modified "Starlight Breaker" Nanoha had created was cited as an example, and since he had been present the "first time" she cast the spell, he had been interviewed. Repeatedly.

Damn, but that blonde was annoying. Apparently, being _ten_ meant that you were less credible unless you were interviewed at least eight times with the _exact same questions_. After the third or fourth, he had been tempted to blast her with it and let her figure out how it worked herself. Fortunately for her, she had little magic, even compared to Mid-Childian civilians, and of only mediocre spellcraft... which had led to the question of _what the hell_ was she doing conducting magical research, anyway?

It was not a question for which he had ever gotten a satisfactory answer. She was not pulling any classified or controlled documents, though, which meant _he_ could not interfere.

It would be an interesting paper, though.

His personal research run across a specific type of anti-mage defense: the Anti-Magic Field. There were several locations and substances that generated it naturally, but, as with most things, there were ways to magically induce one.

From his point of view, it was mostly useless... but then again, he had a lot more power than the average Mid citizen. An AMF might be crippling for them, he supposed. It was a useful training device, though, so he had set one up the room that had become his personal training room; balancing the density against the magical requirements of his rooms and the Library had been interesting, to say the least. He had not quite managed the trick the ancient Belkans allegedly had about limiting the AMF to certain areas.

He never really found out how Ginga ended up in his suite of rooms. The hallway access panel was _supposed_ to have been locked to his aura signature; as was the case with his lab, there were some dangerous things there.

The girl had walked in on him during one of his warm-up kata, a relatively slow show piece that emphasized flexibility- high, arching heel kicks, spins, and flips. It was one of the few kata that even before the Loops had approached being a dance.

It was incredibly impressing for something that was mostly useless, and had definitely registered on the eight-year-old. Then again, as he remembered, he was hardly older than she was... well, physically, anyway. His actual experience hardly counted, in this frame of reference.

When he had stuck the last landing, a high-speed stop from a triple-back-flip that launched into a high, aerial spin kick, he had almost blasted whomever it was when he heard clapping. She had _no_ idea how close she had come to being a small smudge on the dully metallic floors.

She had immediately latched on to him and begged to learn.

_That_ had been taken up with Quint. He was a little surprised when the conversation ended in a challenge, though. It had only been a show kata, after all.

At least she was already married. No risk of Amazon marriages here, purple hair or no.

* * *

"Explain why we're doing this again?" the boy sighed. He, Quint, and two observers- both coworkers of hers- were standing in one of the TSAB ground force's special training areas. He had decided that he really did not want to know how many strings they had pulled to set this up. Of course, they might have had it as soon as they mentioned his name; the higher-ups that so often tried to pull rank on him tried to pull him into a match at least once every three weeks to see if they could figure out what his powers were and how they worked.

He had been laughing in their faces since he first set foot on the planet. It was not as if he could escape from monitoring on the _Asura_, though.

"To see whether or not you'd be a fit teacher," the woman replied, adjusting her Device, the Revolver Knuckle. Her style, it seemed, depended on speed and power- get in their fast with the "talking roller blades," hit hard, and then get back outside their opponent's guard before they realized what hit them. Very blitzkreig.

"And how's a spar gonna do that?"

"Well, it lets me judge your skill level-"

"I _know_ that," he cut in irritably. "It has almost nothing to do with how well I'd teach. Some of the smartest or most skilled people I know can't teach worth a damn."

"Oh, really?" she asked sweetly. "And who would these people be?"

"My father, for one. He ain't anywhere near the smartest one out there, but he's a damn good fighter."

"Really, Ranma," she chastised him, "swearing in front of a lady? What would your mother say?"

He considered that for one brief moment. "Not a damn thing. 'Sides, don't see any ladies here. Just a kid, a TSAB ground forces officer and couple of their sergeants. Ain't a curse-word I can say they ain't heard before. Used, too, probably."

That earned him a laugh. "Good point," she admitted. "Are you ready?"

He nodded and waved a hand at the officer, a mage she had introduced as Zest Grangeitz. "When he calls it."

The brunet sighed. "Why am I involved?" he muttered. "I have better things to do, you know."

"You wouldn't deny your subordinates this, now, would you?" the other sergeant said. "It's for the honor of the unit. Besides, you know you want to see how good he is, too." This one was another purple-haired -woman- female; no relation to Quint, they assured him. What was it with this planet and weird hair colors, anyway? Too much like the Amazons, in his opinion.

Of course, he did not have room to talk. His female form's hair color was odd, even for this planet.

Zest sighed and activated the field. Reality twisted and warped into a rather believable illusion of a forest clearing. "No deadly blows or spells. Nothing permanent. Stop at submission, first blood, knockout, or in fifteen minutes." He glanced at the combatants. "Agreed?"

"Yes," Quint said crisply.

Ranma rolled his eyes and sighed. "You sure we gotta do this?" he asked the woman one last time.

"_Yes_," she repeated, emphasizing the word.

"Fine, whatever," he sighed, and nodded at Zest. "Let's get this over with."

"Very well, then." He raised a hand. Dropping it, he barked, "Fight!"

Quint dashed in immediately, leading with a hard right. That kind of head-on attack led to an almost instinctive aikido throw, and she was abruptly airborne.

"_Wing Road_," she called out, and the spell formed a green-gold track under her feet. It wrapped around the clearing and then in from the side. He took a step back and let her pass by, leading with another punch.

"You're going to have to mix it up a bit," he commented. "I've seen Ginga practicing kicks. I know you use at least some in your style."

The next pass, she lashed out with a kick. He had ducked under that and then sighed. "Looks like it's my turn, if that's all you're gonna do." He pursed his lips slightly and held out one hand, palm up. "_Moko Takabisha_," he announced as she raced by on a diagonal pass.

"What is that?" the observing sergeant, Megane Alpine, asked curiously, staring at the golden basketball-sized energy ball floating above his hand.

"Chi attack," he said simply. "I'll explain it later." He closed his fist around the ball and whipped the fist down and out to the side, extending it like a baton. He sidestepped yet another attack- this one from behind- and said, "You know, it would be harder to dodge you if you weren't flying by a meter off the ground." He simply held the rod out to the side, at ankle-height, and the sudden obstruction sent her rolling off of her path.

"Not bad," she admitted. "Since you've started using magic, though: _Revolver Shoot_!" she shouted, sending a ball of magic his way.

"Why is it that every time you people see a ball of energy, you think it's magic?" he asked, swatting the ball back at her with his free left hand.

She was a little surprised at that, although he could not say whether it was that his little baton was not magic or that he had simply batted her attack back at her without any kind of obvious magical defense. She frowned, and the ball split to either side of her before heading back his way.

Ranma sighed and took two steps forward, this time stepping in front of the impact point, letting the balls detonate harmlessly on the ground. "You know, this is pretty much pointless," he pointed out. "I'm not the one that broke out magic, you know."

"He's right, Quint," Zest agreed. "It's no energy I've ever felt."

The boy snorted. "And you call yourselves knights. Jeez. Now that you're done, though-" He dashed in, closing with a high hook-kick and unloading a series of quick finger and palm strikes. It was not quite the Hyuuga Jyuuken; this was something he had created from it, Doctor Tofu's shiatsu, and Amazon wu shu.

Say what you want about the Amazons- and he usually did- they knew their techniques. This series, though, called more on what he had learned from apprenticing to and being "Ranma Tofu," targeting nerves in the arms and shoulders. He may have had to float slightly off the ground to do so, but it was safer than targeting the abdomen in friendly combat. There were simply too many important things there, and it was not like he wanted to do anything permanent. He could have gone for her legs, but those were... somewhat more sensitive; the points clustered high on both sides of the thigh and outer hip. If she had been kicking, that would have been one thing, but not if it was a spar and she was sticking to punches.

Fate and Arf would probably get pissed at him for that if it ended up changing too many things. Fate and Nanoha still had to meet the rest of their adopted families, and anything that changed that would not be tolerated. Arf would simply be ticked because Fate would be.

Quint managed to block about half of the more important blows. It would, he estimated, numb her arms somewhat and maybe slow her reaction speed, but only last a few minutes.

Her counter this time was a palm strike-knee-hammerfist-kick combo that pushed him back; again, fast, but not fast enough to be unavoidable. "Fast," she admitted, stepping in with a roundhouse boosted by the Wing Road under the foot and the little engines on the back of her roller blades.

"Small target, too," he pointed out, ducking it and going for her knee. "Not bad either."

She grinned and let the Wing Road carry her airborne again. "Gonna come up here?" she taunted.

He smirked back and slammed an AMF into being. "Don't have to."

She squawked and fell out of the air, somersaulting into a three-point landing on the wavering scenery.

"Don't mess with the field," Zest cautioned.

Ranma shrugged, letting up on it. "Didn't mean to. Just wanted her off that damn glowing walkway of hers. She's too damn predictable-" He paused to hop over a low, sweeping kick, planting one foot on her sternum and flipping off, allowing the other to clip her chin. "If she gets on it and I'm still down here. Might be useful in team battles, though," he allowed, watching the irritated sergeant pull herself back up.

"Okay, then," she grunted. "Faster it is." The boosters on both skates fired up, and she launched herself into another low sweep. The momentum from the miss spun her into a back fist, once again going over her target's head.

"Still not enough," Ranma smirked, looking up from his slight crouch. "Not until you can do something like _this_." The one below faded, there was a pulling sensation on the inside of her arm, and she was shocked to find him holding her wrist from above... right before her jaw was introduced to the top of his right foot. The blow spun her, and Ranma released his grip on her wrist in favor of continuing his own spin, landing a heel on her temple.

She dropped like a rock.

"Not even a challenge, really," Ranma said, brushing some imaginary dust off of his pants. "You wanna check her?"

Zest, knocked out of his surprise, blinked and then hurried over to check his subordinate. "She'll be fine," he sighed in relief. "Going to have a hell of a headache, though. Megane?" he asked the sergeant, indicating the unconscious Quint.

She nodded and asked, "Asclepius?" The gloves, once formed, glimmered with a purple sheen that settled over the other non-com.

"How'd you do that?" the knight asked.

"Training," Ranma said succinctly. "Lots and lots of training."

"You're a Mid-style mage," Megane pointed out, still tending to her comrade. "You can't have that much time to spend on this."

"You'd be surprised. It helps," the pigtailed boy said, another three popping into being, "if you can be in more than one place at once. How's her neck? She spun pretty hard and fast, there."

"She'll be fine," the other "support" mage assured him. "We won't know for sure until she wakes up, though."

Zest, though, was more interested in the clones. He gently poked at one with his now-active Device, a glaive. It snorted and asked, "You want me to break that thing?"

Another swatted it across the back of the skull. "Mind your manners," it admonished the first one. "Don't break other people's toys without a damn good reason. They get pissed off about it."

The third had made its way over to the base of a tree and flopped down in the shade. "Don't know why we care. People break _our_ stuff all the time."

"Not recently," the first one pointed out. "Stop poking me, dammit!" it shouted at the brunet knight.

"Okay, now you're starting to have a reason," the second one pointed out.

"Don't you dare," the original said calmly and dispersed all of them.

Zest gave him an odd look. "What was that?"

"Shadow clones. Another technique."

"Explain." It was not a request, Ranma noted.

"Not here, and not until she's awake." He waved at Quint. "Don't wanna do this more than once."

"Fine," Zest grunted. "She in good enough shape to be moved?" he asked his sergeant.

"Yes. She should be waking up in a few minutes," the conscious purple-haired investigator replied.

Her boss collected the casualty and nodded at the Librarian. "Let's go to the infirmary. Should probably have her looked at anyway." He cast an apologetic look Megane's way. "Proper forms."

Ranma snorted again. He seemed to be doing that a lot this Loop, he noted. These people could be so bright one minute, and as thick as Kuno the next. It was starting to get annoying, to be honest.

* * *

The first thing Ranma had done after walking into the two-bed infirmary had been to turn off the most obvious listening device- a baby-monitor style thing, presumably to let the medic know if the patients needed anything.

The second had been to short all of the other ones out. Simple enough, if you concentrated enough magic in the air.

He pulled up a visitor's chair and waited for Quint.

After about five minutes, she came to with a groan. "What hit me?"

"Me," Ranma said softly. "You okay?"

"Will be. Feels like a bus," she slurred.

"Your coworkers wanna ask me some questions," he said softly. "'Bout what I did in the fight, and after. You awake enough to listen in?"

She nodded, and Ranma leaned back in his chair. He looked over to the other two present. "What do you wanna know?" he inquired.

Megane and Zest shared a look before sitting down- Megane on the medic's rolling stool and Zest on the empty bed. Zest led off with "How did you do that?"

Ranma blinked, not surprised by the question, but that it had been worded so vaguely. "Do what?"

"Start off with the glowing not-magic thing," Megane suggested. "You said it was called chi?"

"Yep. You ever heard of chi?"

The mages shook their heads, and Ranma sighed. "Why... Okay, look. You have..." He ran a quick tally on his fingers. "Chi, chakra, reiki, magic, youki, psionics- five or six different types of energy in your body- I'm not talking biology, don't argue with me." He paused to give Megane a Look. "You use magic, and it's split out two or three ways that I ain't gonna talk about right now. Reiki is spiritual energy. Chi is life energy, sorta. Chakra's a third type, made up of physical and mental energy. Youki is little-_d_ demonic energy, demons of the natural world; big-_d_ demons use a special type of magic. Psionics is the ability to use your mind to do weird crap like throw things around or read other people's minds. With me so far?"

They nodded, and Ranma continued, "The 'Moko Takabisha' is a chi attack. Said that during the fight, but don't know if you remember." He paused and gave them a quick glance. "Everything's got chi. _Everything_. Don't care what it is; if it has life in it, or ever has, it's got it. Same way, everything's connected by its chi, and makes a network. When I'm looking for something alive and moving, I'm using that to do it. Big, powerful ones are called the Dragon Lines, and don't just carry chi- you might have heard 'em called 'ley lines,' in fact.

"Lots of fighters use chi; don't all call it that, though. Some of em call it 'fighting spirit,' but it's the same thing.

"Most times, I just toss the 'Moko Takabisha' at someone. What I did there was squeeze it into a rod- a trick I picked up from a... an adventurer friend."

"Hurt," Quint muttered.

"It's supposed to. You're lucky I made it blunt. That spell of yours is nice and all, but it makes you too predictable." The woman rolled her eyes, but did not otherwise answer, so Ranma continued, "If you get hurt, you learn not to do it again... eventually. Ain't my favorite way of teaching, by any means, but hey- if you gotta break a bad habit, ain't a faster way of doing it."

He paused again, waiting for some sort of acknowledgment. When he got it, he continued, "Shadow clones are made of chakra. They're unusual, when it comes to chakra clones, 'cos most of 'em are like 'Fake Silhouette-' they're stupid, they're preprogrammed, an' they can't take a hit. When you hit 'em, they go back to whatever they're made of. Shadow clones can think for themselves and are as smart and have all the abilities of whoever makes 'em; only problem is that they can't use magic. Well, mine can't. Kill one and it still goes up in smoke, though. When they go poof, the person who made 'em gets all of their memories. Still with me?"

The other two nodded. "Now, I figured out how to make a shadow clone with magic- it's a spell all of my own, and I ain't teaching anyone any time soon, so don't ask. Got it?" He glared at the group. "It's one of the spells I use to run the Library, and I call it 'Fylgja.' Does pretty much the same thing, but for me, shadow clones last longer. Probably because round here, you don't use chakra like you do magic, but a bit because I've been doing shadow clones a lot longer.

"Didn't use any of the others in the spar- didn't use chakra, for that matter. Didn't have to. Some of 'em are weird. Reiki an' psionics are really bad 'bout that; it ends up being what you think you can do, a lot of the time. Magic's kinda like that, but you know that."

"What about the AMF?" Zest asked.

"Been doing a lot of research into a place called the 'Saint's Cradle.' It used one, according to the stories, and comes to me that most of the stuff on this world runs on magic. If you can use an AMF, you can limit a lot of what other folks do- so I learned how."

"They're not all-powerful," Megane pointed out quietly. "Anyone with enough magic can burn through."

"I noticed," Ranma agreed dryly, not going into just how he had noticed that kind of thing. "Still, good enough for most things, and if you've got other ways of doing stuff, you ain't gonna be too badly off. Maybe." He raised an eyebrow at Quint. "So, you get what you wanted out of the spar?" he asked.

"I think so." She sat up and looked at him seriously. "I'm in on a dangerous investigation right now. If anything happens... Ginga and Subaru are still going to need a teacher. Would you be willing to do it?"

He blinked. "I'm honored, but is it really that dangerous?"

She looked at the other two investigators. They nodded at her, and she turned back to Ranma. "How much of the things I've been looking at have you read?" she asked directly.

"The combat cyborg stuff?" he wondered. "All of it and more. What's that... you're going after a lab, aren't you."

She nodded, and the boy sighed. "Have you talked to them about it yet?" he asked.

"Ginga knows," the woman said softly. "I don't think that Subaru would understand, though. She's only seven."

"You might be surprised," he pointed out absently. "Kids notice a lot more than people think."

"You'd know," she teased gently.

"Yes," he said seriously. "When are you going after this place, wherever it is?"

"Next week," Zest answered. "You'll not be spreading that around, of course."

Ranma looked vaguely insulted at the comment. "Of course not. I'd still let your families know, though."

Zest shook his head. "The only family I have is here," he grunted, gesturing at the women.

Megane and Quint smiled gently at the compliment. "My daughter is even younger than Subaru; Lutecia is only two," Megane advised him.

He looked a little disturbed at that. "I hope you're not going to ask me to take care of her. Being a teacher is one thing, but raising a kid is something completely different."

"And you'd know?" Quint asked, a not of amusement in her voice.

"Yes." However much amusement Quint was getting out of her little joke, it was clear that Ranma was getting none.

"No," Megane admitted, "I already have something set up for Lutecia. She should be fine."

"And you?" He looked over at the woman in the bed.

"My husband should be able to take care of them," Quint said after a moment. "What I would like you to do is to teach them."

"You sure?" he asked. "I don't practice your style. There's only so much every Art has in common, after all."

She nodded. "They need to be as strong as they can."

"I'm pretty sure Subaru's terrified of me," he pointed out, "and _she_ still thinks I'm just a weird librarian. Ginga'd jump at it, I think, but I won't force someone who doesn't want to learn. Just ends up going bad."

"I only want you to be available, to make the offer," Quint said.

He considered that for a bit.

"Think it over," Zest advised him. "Don't rush it. Just let her know before." The brunet stood, stretching his legs and back. "Quint, make sure he gets your contact info," he directed, walking toward the door.

Megane stood as well. "I should be getting back to Lutecia. Her day care lets out soon." She followed her commander out.

Ranma shook his head. "I'm not a nice teacher," he warned. "It's why I don't teach people who don't want the training. Always ends up bad, that."

"You don't have to if they don't want to learn," the woman repeated. "Just... Don't say no if they decide different later."

He sighed. "Fine, but if they're assholes or bullies, they ain't getting nothing."

"My girls are nothing of the sort!" Quint insisted indignantly.

He shrugged. "You never know. Time changes a lot of things."

* * *

"You may want to look at this," a brunette pointed out to a purple-haired man.

He nodded absently, completely absorbed in planning the modifications to be made to his next masterpiece. Her sisters were works of art, but each one was different. It was less variations on a theme and more testing of various models, though he would never admit that in their presence.

Most of them, anyway. Some of them, his oldest, for the most part, knew exactly what they were.

"Sir?" the brunette said again, louder this time. "Big sister Uno," she said with a distasteful bite to her tone, "says she found a recording of an unusual training session in the TSAB's archives. It includes that boy you were interested in- Ranma Scrya."

That got the man's attention. "Ranma Scrya, eh?" he asked, stepping away from the console. "Very well," he directed, "bring it up on a large window. Bring up his and his opponent's dossiers, and be ready to take notes. Have a line chart of time versus magical power output for him and his opponent in a third, and ones for time versus acceleration, velocity, and estimated physical power, as well."

As an afterthought, he added, "Get your big sister's help, Quattro. This will likely be complicated."

The brunette nodded. She had already briefly reviewed the record and the sensor data from the training ground; this was going to be a challenge. Not something unexpected, though, considering the other things the good doctor had said the boy was capable of.

The playback began. The female's power output fluctuated greatly, spiking as she used her spells- not surprising; it was what spells did, after all. The boy's, however, remained absolutely constant at output threshold plus zero, not even spiking when he created some sort of energy blade. Perhaps the threshold estimate was low?

The doctor held up a hand. "Uno," he commanded, "rewind the recording seven seconds and increase the volume. He says something- I want to hear it."

The older woman nodded, striking several keys. "_What is that?_" one of the on-screen observers asked.

"_Chi attack_," the boy said. "_I'll explain it later_."

"Quattro," the doctor said, his voice pausing the video again, "I would be very interested in retrieving the audio logs of how he explains that."

The brunette brightened considerably. The doctor had given _her_ a job to do!

"After we finish reviewing this, of course," he clarified, and playback resumed. As if _that_ needed to be said!

Her eyes widened as the video continued. A quiet whisper, "AMF," passed her lips as she saw the depression of the local magic field.

"So he can generate one," the doctor observed, obviously having overheard her whisper. His fingers twitched. "I want to know..." he murmured, golden eyes fixed on the displays.

He broke off as the boy suddenly split into three. "A Unison Device? We investigated his abilities before, and he did no such thing... No, the Unison Device was a small, winged female, and these appear to be more like an illusion... but are they truly self-aware? Uno, audio."

"_What was that?_" the knight asked.

"_Shadow clones. Another technique_," the boy replied.

"_Explain_," the older male commanded.

"_Not here, and not until she's awake. Don't wanna do this more than once_," the younger one demurred.

"He calls it a technique," the Doctor muttered. "Why a technique? What's the difference?"

"_Let's go to the infirmary. Should probably have her looked at anyway_," the knight decided for the group.

"Find me that log, Quattro," the doctor demanded.

"Yessir," she affirmed. It took her a regrettable six seconds to reveal an even more regrettable truth. "Doctor..." In anyone else, watching the light of curiosity for that first time would be interesting- pleasurable, even- but not her dear, beloved Doctor. "That record does not exist. Three seconds after the group entered the brigade infirmary, there was a magical outburst that destroyed all of the monitoring enchantments, their backups, and even the maintenance spells. The damage appears to be simple overload, but the only ones there who could have done it are the male mage or, possibly, Scrya. His displayed abilities indicate a substantive gap in his records."

She winced as the eager desire turned to rage. "I'm monitoring them," she hurried to assure him, "until they speak about it."

"Do so," he commanded, returning to the graphs, charts, and transcripts she- and her big sister- had compiled, displayed on the magical monitor. "We may have another addition to our specimen collection shortly." -Disturbing cackling- Cheerful laughter bubbled up out of his chest. "Oh, what fun we will have," he chortled.

* * *

Some three days later, Ranma made arrangements to visit the Nakajima home. Quint saying so was all well and good, but that did not mean that the rest of the family agreed- or even knew. His -old man- own family was such a model for sharing, after all.

Genya, for some odd reason, looked old, he learned when he showed up two days after that. Really old. Especially since he was only a little older than Quint. He had absolutely no business looking that old.

Quint, it turned out, had made some nebulous comments about having "their" girls learn an additional style. "Their," because while there was definitely a relationship between the young cyborgs and the sergeant, there was none, as far as any of his senses could tell, between them and Genya- who had no idea just who he was.

Getting told "I'm sorry, son, but the girls can't come out and play right now, we're waiting on an important guest" had been a little surprising.

* * *

"You'll have to come back tomorrow," Genya said.

"Is that so," Ranma drawled.

"It is. Have a nice night." The door closed in Ranma's face.

The boy sighed. Sometimes, being eleven _sucked_. He banged on the door again, fishing for his TSAB identification papers. It would be a little more subtle than simply lighting up the neighborhood with his power.

A little less likely to get him arrested, too, considering that the TSAB's doctrine on unplanned flares like that near the home of one of their officials was to assume an assassination attempt and roll in the big guns. He -loved his fights- liked a good fight as much as the next person, but leveling their home was hardly the best way to start a student-teacher relationship.

He much preferred his current method- dodging practice. And these two were mages, meaning he could... spice it up a bit.

It was an irritated Genya who opened the door. "Look, son, I told you-"

"I know what you said, Captain," Ranma cut him off.

"Then why-"

"Because I was invited," he snapped with no small degree of irritation.

The older man frowned. "I know that the girls knew we were expecting someone," he said, trying to work out what was going on. "They shouldn't have-"

"Did I say it was Ginga or Subaru?" the boy sighed.

Genya blinked.

Ranma finally found his papers and proffered them for inspection. "I am called Ranma Scrya. We have an appointment. My credentials."

* * *

He had been invited inside rather quickly after that.

Genya, after a brief moment of confusion followed immediately by a thorough inspection of the offered identification, had apologized profusely, of course.

It seemed that Quint was running late- something that happened often enough that they had not held supper. There was some left on the tale for her, covered by a shimmery spell-dome; Genya offered, as he sent the girls upstairs to do their schoolwork, but he had politely "eaten before arriving." He did accept a cup of hot tea, though.

Genya studied him carefully from across the couch. It seemed that he was trying to reconcile the persona of the Librarian with the little boy, so Ranma chuckled and touched him with a focused bit of reiki. Reiki, because a normal person could feel it, it was not inherently threatening the way the killing intent from his ki or chakra were, and did not show up on any of the TSAB scans he knew of.

The officer was suitably impressed... but not so much that he did not attempt to go for his sidearm when a sword abruptly materialized across his guest's lap.

He may not have made it there- the sheer pressure was too overwhelming- but even going for it was quite the testament to the man's character. Ranma approved.

"You can stop that," Ranma absently informed him, eyes on the zanpakutou. He had not called for it, which was a problem... but at least it was not the mask. He frowned lightly and banished it with a thought. He _really_ needed to take a look at those powers.

Later, though. He was too busy right now.

His eyes met the older man's. "That help you believe at all?" he asked, his voice belying his worry.

The officer nodded tersely.

The pigtailed boy sighed and set his Western-style cup and saucer on the table. "What'd Quint tell you?" he asked directly.

"That she asked the Librarian to try to teach the girls a different style," the adult returned, resting his hand on the tiny, almost-useless sidearm most non-mage officers carried. Rested, but not drawing. Not yet. That was a good sign.

"She say why?" Ranma pressed.

Genya blinked. "I was... unaware that a why was necessary," he admitted, eyes uncertain.

Ranma tilted his head to one side. "'Zat so," he muttered. Picking the cup back up, he stared at the surface for a moment. "Well, ain't my place to tell, but you'll want to get that from her." He sighed and took a sip. Pretty sure she just doesn't want you to worry, but hey."

Genya tensed. "Should I be worrying?"

Ranma closed his eyes briefly. "Ain't mine to tell," he answered distantly. "Besides, she'll be here in a few, and you can ask her yourself or wait 'til I'm gone and ask then."

He set the nearly empty cup back down. "Long and short of it is that yeah, she's asked me to teach your little girls." Piercing blue eyes locked the silver-haired man's. "Ain't gonna force 'em, and I told her that. Won't turn 'em away, either, if they change their minds later, like Subaru might. If I think they're gonna use my style wrong, though, or even if they're learning for the wrong reasons, I'm gonna turn 'em down long as that holds true." His eyes closed again. "My Art's one of my responsibilities, and I gotta take care of it."

The TSAB major nodded slowly. He had run across similar things before, although in those cases, it had been more closely related to Devices.

"I'm home!" Quint called.

"Welcome home," Genya answered reflexively. "We're in the sitting room, and there's some food on the table."

"Thank you," the woman replied, quickly making her way to the kitchen, depositing a kiss on her husband's forehead. "Ranma Scrya hasn't gotten here yet, has he? We have some... stuff... we need... to go over..." As frantic as Quint's progress back through the room was, it slowed to a crawl as she caught sight of the named individual.

Her comment was elegant in its simplicity: "Fuck."

Ranma got a grin out of it, at least.

"Dear, we need to talk," the family's token male commented icily.

She was really on a roll, this time. "_Fuck_."

"That comes later," Ranma helpfully told her. "Usually between lots of loud yelling and actually dealing with whatever the problem is." He paused. "Well, sometimes the yelling happens during, too, but that's not usually about the argument."

The adults stared at him.

"What?"

"I don't know whether or not I should be disturbed," Genya commented.  
"Disturbed, I think," Quint offered.

The boy snorted. "I'm the Librarian," he pointed out. "I'm _supposed_ to know lots of stuff."

"Not like that," the silver-haired man disagreed.

"What's so special about it?" Ranma wondered.

"It's not something someone your age would normally know," Quint agreed.

"I'm eleven, not blind or stupid," the boy snorted, "and with as many different cultures as there are in the TSAB, you should realize that there are at least a few that start their making up in public."

"You're an eleven-year-old _boy_," the captain pointed out.

"And?"

"I didn't know anything like that when _I_ was eleven," he said, exasperation heavy in his voice.

"How long ago was that, again?"

Silence.

"He's got a point," Quint finally said.

"Quint!" the major protested.

"Wow." Ranma scratched his head. "Didn't know you were _that_ old."

"I'm not!" he snapped.

"Dear, I'm thirty, and you're-" the wife teased.

"QUINT!"

"Fine, fine." She waved it off.

"Don't you have something else to talk to me about, or should I come back later?" Ranma asked irritably. "I'm actually here. I can't just disperse myself and send a new one later."

Genya coughed into a fist, taking note of the odd expression and deciding to ask about it later. "Yes. Yes, we do. Anyway... you're offering to teach the girls. What does this training involve?"

With no small relief in his voice now that the conversation was back on-topic, Ranma said, "Mostly physical conditioning, drills, and maybe a little bit of trauma to balance it out."

"Oh, is that all- wait, _what_?" the man demanded.

"Come on, love, it's a physical activity. A few bruises are to be expected," Quint jumped in, shooting a warning glance at the boy, who scratched nervously at the back of his neck.

"Of course," he said. "'No pain, no gain' and all that. Won't force the girls to do anything, either. Nope, no force involved at all..."

"An extra way of looking at things would help, too," Quint continued. "Strike Arts can't deal with everything, and Ranma's- what did you call it?"

"Musabetsu Kakutou-ryu," the boy filled in.

"Musabetsu Kakutou-ryu would give them a new way of dealing with things. We, of all people, should know htat one tool won't fix everything."

"Depends on the tool," Ranma disagreed, earning a surprised look from the "grownups."

"The school's an approach to life," he explained. "It's more that than anything else. There are a few core kata, but you take the bits and pieces of other Arts you find useful, jam them in together, and make 'em work for you." Of course, he left out just how certain members of the school tended to use it.

The officer hummed noncommittally. "It definitely sounds interesting," he admitted, trying to place the words in the school's name. They sounded so very familiar... but they could not mean anything. Any seeming relation to his family's ancestral language must have been happenstance... right?

* * *

Defying logic and apparent biology, a small wrinkly thing floating in a tank sneezed.

* * *

When their parents called the girls down to re-introduce Ranma as a prospective teacher, they got something of a surprise. The girls were just young, not stupid, after all; they had heard their parents yell and argue before, and were worried about their family. While divorce was not exactly common on Mid, it was still far from uncommon- and it was very much a reality for military families.

Especially when both parents were military. The stress of the career transferred over to everything else in their lives.

On her way in, Subaru had given him the Evil Eye. _Subaru_! He had thought that she had about as much spine as the "un-Awakened" Hinata! Still, even that Hinata tended to do some odd things when something happened to someone she cared about.

Once the girls were reassured, the introductions took place. Subaru shook her head "no" almost immediately, once it was made clear that she would be able to change her mind later.

Ginga, though, barely held herself back from tackling him. She pounced on her parents instead, showering them with affection and thanks.

* * *

Classes began several days later in Ranma's training room. He was pretty sure that it had started out life as a simple reading room, or maybe a lab. At some point, it had become something along the lines of Hogwarts's Room of Requirement... with the exception of always being there. It altered itself to suit its user(s) needs, however... odd they may have been. Oddly enough, considering that the only thing connecting it to it was building materials, it seemed... almost sentient.

In this case, a dojo.

It even provided training dummies, a localized AMF, and those odd Midchildian mirrors that just _would not_ break.

A _fylgja_ was working on that one. It could make him _millions_ in certain Loops.

Ginga showed up on-time in one of those stereotypical white gis that people always seemed to imagine when they think "martial artist." Granted, he had spent a fair chunk of his early training in one... but that was because they were cheap, easy to make, easier to mend, and extremely sturdy. The old man was nothing if not thrifty when it came to his own money.

"I know how you do things," Ranma told her. "I need to see how fast you can do them, and how hard you hit."

"But Momma says only to hit someone if they're trying to hit you," the girl replied.

The older boy took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Ginga," he said, "There is virtually _nothing_ that you can do that will hurt me. Surprise me, maybe, but not hurt me."

"I dunno," the purple-haired girl said doubtfully, "I'm pretty strong."

"So am I," he pointed out. "You have to do this if I'm going to be able to teach you effectively."

"But Momma says-"

An eye twitched, ever so slightly, and Ranma raised his eyes unto the sidelines where the heretofore unmentioned parent sat, watching the first lesson. "Will you explain this to her?" he begged.

Genya shrugged. "I tried to on the way over," he admitted. "She's doing the right thing, though... or she would be, outside of class, anyway."

Ranma twitched again. "I'm not going to disagree there," he slowly replied, marshaling his patience. "I still need to be able to gauge her strength, though, and this is more effective than simply making her lift and carry things or hit pressure plates. If I can't judge which side of the speed-strength curve she falls on, I'll end up training her for how I think she should be, based on her other Art and how Quint fights. Even if it's probably going to change in a few more years, when she starts filling out."

"Would that be so bad?" the major wondered.

"No, probably not," the boy sighed. "It wouldn't be right for _her_, though."

"Papa, what's filling out?"

"I'll explain later," he said uncomfortably. "Or better yet, you can ask your momma. You need to spar with your teacher right now, though."

"But I'll have to hit him..."

"You'll have to _try_ to hit him," the Adult Supervision emphasized. "That doesn't mean that you will, although he probably will let you a few times, just so he can see how strong you are."

"If he just wants to know how strong I am, why doesn't he look at my school report card?"

"Wrong type of strength, Ginga," the Librarian sighed.

"But we do P.E-"

"Which doesn't include strength tests," he cut in. '_Good Lord, I swear I'm going to smack her-_'

"But Momma says-"

"Okay, enough. Time to dodge, girl!" Ranma let go with a slow- for him- straight jab, and the girl eeped and stumbled backwards a pace.

"Mister Ranma-"

"Fight, dammit!" the boy roared, jabbing again.

"EEK!" The girl swatted his hand aside. He could have sworn for a second that her eyes had changed color.

"Um, Scrya," the father tried to interrupt, "Is this really the best way to do this?"

"_Yes_!" the boy snapped. "I'm attacking you, girl!" he shouted, slowly picking up the pace. "Are you going to fight back or not?!"

"But I-" Ginga tried.

"NO BUTS!" A roundhouse floated- again, in his perception, toward her midsection.

It was once again sidestepped, although this time she countered with a right cross of her own.

"That's better!" he encouraged. "I'm not gonna stop, though!" He ducked under the jab and stepped into her guard, aiming a palm-strike for her left shoulder. She blocked the palm strike to the outside, bidding a front-kick to earn some space.

A quick knee caught the front kick and turned into a hook kick of his own. She hopped backwards, guarding her retreat with a leg-height roundhouse that connected with Ranma's thigh. "Ah! I'm-" she tried to apologize, only to be silenced as she was tagged by another palm strike, this one to the sternum.

"If that's all you've got," he said scornfully, "I really don't know what you were worried about. I bet your younger sister can hit harder than you can."

"She can not!" the girl objected.

"Betcha she can," he sniped. "Bet she doesn't have trouble fighting back, either-"

The little girl shrieked in rage. "I'm going to pound you!" She led in with a wide right hook, following it with a tight, twisting backfist. Neither connected, only increasing her ire. "Stay still!"

"Why should I?" he asked goodnaturedly. "After all, there's no reason for-"

"Ook," said a giant orange simian, strolling in from outside. His large, sad eyes projected a slightly remorseful feeling at the Librarian.

"Oy!" the boy objected, dodging the girl's blows, "I'm not _in_ the library right now! I'm in my private wing, and it's soundproofed! Hell, you shouldn't have even been able to hear what was going on in this room!"

"Ook ook eek ook."

"I stand by my comment," Ranma said stubbornly despite doing no such thing, dancing around Ginga's increasingly wild strikes.

"What's a mon-" Genya began.

"Stop that!" Ranma was abruptly covering his mouth. "Don't _ever_ call him that," the boy hissed. "He doesn't like it when people call him the m-word. Bad things happen."

Ginga spun in place for a moment, sighting on the boy just in time to hear the last words. "Like what?" she asked.

"Bad Things," he insisted. "He's an orangutan, an ape. You don't want to _ever_ call him a monkey.

"EEK!" the ape objected.

"Well, shit. Now I'm gonna have to deal with him the rest of the day," the boy groaned, stepping free of Genya so that the older man was not caught in the line of fire. "Ginga," he instructed, "I want you to watch this for a bit so that you know just how much punishment I can take."

The 'tang reached out for the other boy carefully, patting him on the arm twice, as if to make sure he was actually there before grabbing hold.

"You know," the target boy said, "I don't think you've ever met. Ginga, Genya, this is the Librarian of Unseen University, off in some random dimension or other." He gestured idly with the arm that the other librarian was not trying to break with an arm and two feet. "Librarian," he said to the other, "these are Ginga, one of my students, and Genya, her father."

The Librarian ooked and waved its free hand before turning its attention back to Ranma's arm.

The two from Mid just stood there and blinked, eventually shrugging it off as someone using a shape-changing spell. They were actually not too terribly far off.

"Ginga," the sometime ferret instructed, "I want you to look up just how strong orangutans are. Get your dad or your mom to help, if you need it." He paused. "Where is Quint, anyway?"

"She said she had a mission tonight," Genya replied. "She should be back sometime tomorrow."

The Librarian of the Infinite Library nodded, more or less ignoring the giant ape trying to reverse his elbow. "Say hi to her for me. Have a nice night, you two. Good starter session, Ginga; we'll have to work on that not-hitting-people thing of yours, though," the boy added as the other two walked out.

He looked at the ape hanging off his arm. "Why do you keep doing that? You know it's not going to do anything."

"Ook," the other librarian commented.

"No, it's not going to suddenly work one day," the boy said, exasperated. "Look, I'm sorry for calling you a monkey, but you know you're not supposed to just wander in, and especially not to the bit where I'm living."

"Ook," the ape replied.

"_I_ don't have a nest in the middle of the stacks," the boy snapped back, "and I make a _point_ of people not being able to get in here!"

"Ook ook," the ape retorted, resting on the Case of the Arm in favor of a knee.

"Well, yes, I live here!" the irritated boy said, voice rising. "This is one of the reasons _why_ I live here- so people don't just randomly show up!"

"Ook," the older(?) librarian reprimanded.

"I keep telling you, no, this is not part of the library! I have signs posted!"

The orangutan paused in its attempts to snap, or at least severely wrench, Ranma's knee. "Ook?"

"Yes! Go look, if you don't believe me!"

"Ook," it said decisively, patting him on the shoulder once more and trundling off.

"I swear..."

* * *

Ginga did not show up to train the next day, as had been arranged.

After the second day of no-shows, Ranma decided to put in a personal visit, of sorts, to figure out if something major had changed.

It had, sure enough. Quint was dead, killed in the course of that mission of hers, courtesy of some sort of bladed weapon. If the bits and pieces left were any sort of indication, they were some sort of advanced power-blade or a robot.

His money, based on the girls themselves, was a robot. You almost never had a cyborg without at least one full robot running around, and these people, comments about the sanctity of technomantic advancement aside, were really just rebuilding former glories.

They were doing it on a lesser level, too- they refused to even _look_ at anything _not_ magic, except for anatomy, biology, physiology and pharmacology. Even then, it was to augment their magic or in an attempt to fill in the gaps that their magic left.

Even the strongest, most efficient spells never healed absolutely everything, after all. The scans never caught everything. He knew why, of course- they were missing five or six types of energy on those fancy aura scans of theirs, and he had written a generally ignored paper on them. They would never cover _everything_ until all those other energy types had been covered. It was one of the way the wards on the Library worked the way they did.

Well, that and because it annoyed the crap out of the people that said they were his bosses to not be able to treat _his_ library like a twenty-four-hour corner store. Hours were hours, and unless the TSAB High Nutjobs decided to show up, they could damn well show up during them and try to edit his records then.

Good luck with that.

The wake would be late the next day, in time for him to whip up whatever passed for civilian male formal dress here- suits and ties, from what he had seen.

It was also enough time to make a call.

* * *

"Ranma?" Fate's face brightened somewhat, despite the dark, heavy bags under her eyes.

"Fate, I have a bone..." He paused. "What happened to you?"

"Remember how I said that Nanoha and Vita always get hurt really, really badly?"

"Yeah," Ranma said cautiously.

"Well, it happened a few nights ago."

He blinked. Quint had died a few nights ago. "Was this some sort of robot attack?"

"They are called gadgets, Ranma, and yes. I finally got what it was out of Vita- they were called in to extract a team of Enforcers raiding a lab they suspected to be producing combat cyborgs."

"Combat cyborgs- like Ginga and Subaru?"

Fate nodded at him. "Despite that, they're good girls. Never doubt that." She paused. "I am a little surprised that you remember their names."

"That'd be because I helped their mother with some research," he said blandly, "and she asked me to teach her daughters a little." His gaze sharpened on her. "You know, one of the Enforcers that died in that raid you didn't tell me about." He paused to let that sink in. "Did you even _think_ about telling me about this?" he accused, "or was it all to save your little corner of what you think the future should be?"

On-screen, Fate's expression turned to one of hurt. "Ranma, if I-"

"If you what, Fate?" he demanded. "'If you and Nanoha hadn't kept this to yourselves, their mother just _might_ be alive, and that affects your precious time-line how? Is it really necessary to go around, abandoning good people to their dooms? I bet you'd even do the same thing to your big sister, Alicia!"

"Subaru's part of Nanoha's team!" the blonde finally sobbed when he paused for breath.

"See? Is it really that hard?" he asked calmly. "I didn't even have to break you to get it out of you." His face hardened. "If something else like this comes up, Fate, we will have words."

* * *

The wake ended up being surprisingly Buddhist, something Ranma had not expected; he had yet to see any kind of religious architecture since arriving on-planet. "His" clan's beliefs were shamanistic where they existed, reinforcing the impression.

Genya was an absolute wreck, but he was pulling himself together for the girls' sake. Ginya, similarly, was holding it in so that her little sister, nine-year-old Subaru, could do as much of her mourning as fast as possible.

It was unhealthy, but it was still very human. He would have to speak with Ginga, at least, and maybe Genya as well about that. Ginga would probably take the advice; Genya, though, would ask questions. Questions he was not sure he could answer in good faith without letting on to more than he should, considering that the old man was not Awake. There was a significant difference in loosing a parent, as "Ranma Scrya" had, and loosing a spouse. He knew that from experience.

What they were doing was still marginally healthier than what the Tendo had done in a similar situation. He made a note to call up Kasumi and talk through that sometime as a companion case- she had more experience with that than he did, after all. It would be interesting, if nothing else.

He had done what he could- make sure the girls knew the lessons were there, provided the occasional warm meal and an even less common crying shoulder.

You did what you could when you were able, and in the least obvious manner possible. That never seemed to change, no matter what culture you were in.

* * *

It was not, of course, raining the day of the funeral.

Not at the Library, at least; neither was it scheduled anywhere within several hundred miles. Mid planned its weather events carefully, current needs and desired ecology fed into yet another of the ubiquitous magical algorithms that somehow matched them up against a matrix that provided for seasonal amounts. These were then distributed in a bell curve across the seasons and occasionally, in some cases, into the next.

It made Ranma wonder just what would happen should (Heaven forbid) the system fail.

He could almost taste the weather clerks' frustration. Whole generations had passed by without so much as a breath of pure, natural wind. The first few complaints would go to the peacekeepers, of course, but as soon as they figured out that there was a problem with the system, the rest would end up in front of those poor, hapless clerks whose normal function tended to be attempted explanations of just why the march of seasons was necessary.

The internment was to be a private thing. He was close to the family, but not nearly that close. He had only known them for half a year, after all.

He simply waited for Ginga to return. He used the interval to visit Nanoha in the hospital. She was less than pleased with him; Fate, or more likely Arf, had tattled. He was less than impressed with her displeasure, and made it known. Loudly.

Kasumi had been there at the time. She got a kick out of his little tirade, mostly at his twitching, constantly shifting form and trying to not put the still-injured girl back in a coma. For medical reasons, of course. It was hardly his fault if it was to keep her from getting herself hurt, after all.

* * *

It took another week after the funeral. That day, it _was_ raining, which made her showing up without an umbrella a little confusing.

It turned out that it had been their first "checkup-" it was really more of a systems maintenance thing, but calling it that made it feel a little more normal. Regular kids did not go to a mechanic, after all.

Quint had always gone with them, before. Today, Genya had been working the watch desk, and she had been the one to lead Subaru there, to talk with the technicians, to schedule the next time against school and what times they had available.

Afterwards, she had taken Subaru home... and then come here. The house had too many memories- for Subaru, too, but Subaru still was not interested in learning Ranma's Art and was being a needy little pest.

Put simply, she needed to hit something. Or try, anyway.

He put her to work on the training dummies, practicing basic strikes.

After an hour, she finally burst, "I've done all of these before! I mastered them years ago! What're you having me do this for?!"

"You aren't ready for anything else, yet," Ranma answered. "You're still hurting from loosing your mother, and you aren't ready to talk through it or to meditate on it; the pain's too close. When that changes, we can do something else. I'm certainly not going to let you try to spar. You'll push yourself too hard and hurt yourself- and I can't heal you the way I could another student." He paused. "On second thought, it might be a good idea. It'll burn you down faster, at least... you are trying to work yourself until you drop, aren't you?"

Ginga just gaped. "How- how do you-"

"There's a reason I don't talk about my parents, _student_," Ranma told her, effectively putting her in her place.

"I... I am sorry, Master," the cyborg said, abashed. "It is just..."

"What happened to Quint was not your fault," Ranma said gently. Sensing that this might take a while, he commanded, "Sit down. I'm looking into whose fault it is, though, and you can believe that I will do something about it."

"But if it weren't for me and Subaru, she would not have been involved," the purple-haired girl protested weakly.

"Didn't she meet you on a raid?" the Librarian asked. "I'd say she was involved before that. A long time before, in fact; the TSAB doesn't split up teams like hers if there's not a problem with them. I met Grangeitz and Alpine; they were good people, too, and they worked well together. They were making good progress on the case; unless one of the higher-ups interfered, I don't think they would have been taken off of it." He tilted his head to the side and added, "You know, they weren't the only ones hurt on this. They sent in a backup team to help with the extraction."

She blinked. "Nobody told us..."

"Well, they wouldn't have," he pointed out. "What they were doing is still pretty classified, after all. People know that something happened, but not what or who it involved. They're not going to say anything officially for a long time, yet. I think you only know since you were her family and are already involved, in an indirect way."

"What does that mean, Master?" Ginga asked. "Subaru and I are not..."

He sighed. "You two are _combat cyborgs_," he stressed. "You are _very_ much involved. You don't think that the people working with you have nothing to do with the official program, do you? It's only been stopped a few years- since only a few months before Quint met you two, right?"

The girl nodded.

"What do you think the administration did with those researchers? They don't just let them go, you know. The TSAB always leaves a few strings in place. They don't appreciate people telling them that they're just done with being tools. They get declared rouge when that happens."

Ginga gave that a moment's thought. "Then, does that mean that the Council knew about the lab and the raid and everything?"

Ranma shrugged. "Someone did. I don't know who. If you're good enough when I figure out who it was, and if you're in condition to and even want to see, I'll let you come along when I deal with them." '_And if I find out that jackass Gaiz was involved... Better not think about it right now. She'll figure it out_.' "It won't be pretty, though," he warned.

"I will hold you to that, Master," she said seriously.

"Of course. Now, go back to hitting the dummies. Unless you'd like more dodging practice."

"Master!" she whined. He just laughed.

* * *

Ginga's training continued at a more normal pace after that. Ginga came over every day after school, and by the time she entered the long TSAB Ground Forces basic training regimen eighteen months later, she was a passable martial artist, by the standards of his home Loop. She was not really all that impressive, by Nerima standards- she was only up to about Akane's base level, in the Prime Loop- but for here, that was a significant improvement.

Her hand-to-hand instructors were a little puzzled by her skill. They had yet to be able to land a hit on her. How were they supposed to teach someone that already knew what they were trying to teach?

This being the military, it just meant they leaned harder on her. She was the one chosen for the combat demonstrations, both physical and magical. When they found out that some of the smaller trainers could not even lift her, she had more time for the crap details. Cleaning the latrine was always a popular one.

Some of those instructors ended up seeking him out on their down time. They insisted that a mere librarian and archaeologist could not be as skilled as he claimed to be... at least before they saw the nearby shadow clones and fylgja break down in laughter, some of them dispelling in the process. It changed their mind, at least a little, when he almost absently re-created them and they did _not_ sense the chakra used to make that version.

That little escapade had earned him another Board of Inquiry, but when they learned that he was using his known, established abilities, it ended much quicker than the one previous.

Unlike most boot camps, the cadets got to go home on holidays and for family commitments. It was on one such holiday when Ginga and Subaru were caught in the regional transport hub during a massive fire there.

* * *

"Oh my," Ranma sighed, looking at the conflagration.

"That is my phrase, Ranma," Kasumi reprimanded him lightly. Her tone belied the obvious worry in her eyes, however. "You have access to the blueprints of this place, right? Where are the fuel tanks?"

"Hold up," he grunted, pulling up a window. After a moment, he said, "Wish Fate had told me it would be this bad. It's not too close to the fuel... but the way that thing's burning, it won't be long." He looked at the _Book of the Night Sky_, currently separated from her Mistress. "Sending it to you, Reinforce. You're doing the battle management for this, right?"

The construct nodded. "Until the local forces arrive."

"Shouldn't be too long." He scratched at the back of his head. "Genya asked me to come over here as soon as he knew what was going on. I don't have to wait on his troops, after all."

Kasumi nodded. "You would be going inside, then?"

"Don't have much of a choice," he sighed. "There's a lot of people in there who need protection, and what's a martial artist do, after all."

The Mistress of the Night Sky sighed, looking at a bright pink beam suddenly rising from the main structure and doing some serious damage to its integrity. "Be careful," her Device admonished him. "You said it yourself. That's a much hotter fire than it should be- spreading faster, too."

He nodded. "Can't use _Fimbulvetr_, either," he agreed. "I'd get the people too."

"You could just Unison-"

"No," the young man snapped at her. "You know damn well that ain't happening, and you know why. Stop asking."

":_Hands off_,:" Lilith growled. ":_He's ours!_:"

The red-eyed girl simply shrugged. "Worth a shot. I can aim much more efficiently than you can, after all."

":_Wanna bet?_:"

"You might be surprised, child."

":_Child!? I'm older than you are!_:"

He snorted, ignoring the side conversation between the ancient Lost Logia and the succubus generally regarded as his Device. "Only thing that can handle even close to that much power's the Library," he noted. "You can handle a lot, but you have a tough time with Kasumi, if your reserves aren't at full, and I ain't giving you a charge.

"I'm going in," he announced, ending the debate. "Nanoha and Fate are in there already. I'll let you know if I run into them."

Rather than flying, he simply teleported, warping the space around him.

Kasumi looked concernedly at the blazing structure. After a moment, she said, almost clinically, "Nothing blew up this time. He's getting better."

"The local support commander is here," Reinforce noted.

A silver-haired man jogged up, and she turned to look. "Sorry I'm late. I'll be taking over here."

Kasumi saluted. "Captain Yagami Kasumi, special investigator attached to the battalion here for site defense."

He saluted back. "Major Genya Nakajima, from the one-oh-eight ground security battalion."

"Yes, Major, is it- wait, did you say 'Genya?' Are you the one who called Ranma?"

The senior officer blinked. "You know Ranma?"

She nodded. "Quite well. We've known each other for a long time now." Just how long was not really any of his business, after all. "He has gone inside, to help with the evacuation. I should go help put out the fires- I am a wide area mage; I will be in the sky if you need me."

A window beeped into being next to her. "Kasumi, I just rescued a girl," Nanoha's voice said. "She said she was 'Subaru Nakajima;' I handed her off to fire rescue, but she said that her big sister was still inside."

"Thank you very much, Nanoha," Kasumi said pleasantly. "I will be going to help shortly, and Ranma has already gone inside."

"He's here?" Nanoha was _not_ pleased with that; she still had not gotten over the -very public- as much as a TSA military medical ward could be, anyway- dressing-down Ranma had given her- way he had hurt her Fate's feelings. "He better not destroy anything."

"You do realize that you have already destroyed quite a bit more today than he has in years, yes?" the brunette asked.

Nanoha chuckled nervously. "Setting that aside, there are things that need to happen-"

"Later, Nanoha," the captain cut her off. "You just go back to rescuing people, all right? And do not pick any fights with Ranma."

The other brunette scowled, but answered back, "Roger." The screen flashed out of being.

Kasumi turned back to the major. "Sir, I will be going now; the fire is too close to the fuel farm. Reinforce, please give him his handover, and then come meet me in the sky." She offered one final salute, reflexively returned, and dashed off.

"Are all of Ranma's friends that unusual?" he asked bemusedly of the Lost Logia once known as the _Book of Darkness_. "I've met some of the ones that call themselves the Wolkenritter, but she's as unusual as they are."

It earned him a giggle, but not much else.

* * *

Ranma cast his senses around, looking for the trapped civilians. The smoke from the burning... whatever it was that the TSAB had shelled out for to build the place was too thick to rely on his eyes.

It was not long before he found a group under a double layer of shields- one he recognized as Fate's from the obvious electric feel she left behind, but the other even easier to identify- his student. It was still there, so she was obviously fine.

"It's time to get you out of here," he announced cheerfully.

"Huh?" one of them asked intelligently.

"Oh, you won't have to move a muscle." He consulted his mental map for the location of the casualty collection point and teleported them there with a wave and a grin, completely ignoring the two barriers present.

":_Incoming_,:" he belatedly advised the team.

":_Thanks for the heads-up, asshole_,:" the team lead sent back. ":_You almost dropped them on a patient. Ask first!_:"

":_Yeah, yeah_,:" he sent back, already casting his senses out to find out just where the young cadet was. Fate was there with her, so he decided to ignore it in favor of the current crisis and hope they did not try to start swapping stories. He moved on to the next closest group.

":_Fate, found those civvies you left in that double barrier_,:" he told the blonde, making sure she knew she did not need to backtrack- for them, at least.

":_Thank you, Ranma_,:" she said gratefully, a little bit of fear in her mind-voice. She had not quite gotten over their little conversation either, it seemed, but at least she did not hold a grudge over it; she understood where he was coming from, after all, and she had been a target of opportunity. The last thing he needed would be _two_ Nanohas.

* * *

A certain purple-haired scientist, staring at the data from a bank of growth tanks, sneezed.

"Are you alright, Doctor?" a purple-haired woman with his golden eyes asked evenly.

"Yes, yes," he said, rubbing his nose and resuming his stare. "I can't help but think that someone is talking about our little project here."

* * *

With the paramedics, Subaru Nakajima did the same thing. She quickly decided that either Nanoha was thinking about her- '_SQUEE!_-' or Tea knew what was going on this time around. As important as her long-time partner was, she enjoyed playing with the innocent version a little more.

* * *

"Great. Just who I wanted to see," someone gloated from behind the Librarian.

"Why, hello, Nanoha," he sighed as his senses registered just who it was. "So good to see you. I missed you too."

"Don't act so innocent!" the young woman snapped. "You hurt Fate!"

"So did you," he pointed out. "You could have told her what was going on a long time ago... or, you know, told _me_, and I would have done something about it since you're obviously incapable." He turned to get a good look at the other Anchor. "Uh... Nanoha, why do you still look like you're nine?"

"How should I know?" the loli barked. "Even Vita looks older than I do! What the hell did you do to me? Is hurting Fate not enough?!"

Skuld had long since made a habit of keeping a terminal window open on her boyfriend. Hearing him speak with the cursed girl briefly earned her attention, and she grinned viciously.

"Don't believe I exist, huh?" she crowed. "See how long _that_ lasts!"

The other two Norns looked at her concernedly.

"I think she might be due for another vacation," Urd whispered to her other, at the moment marginally more sane sister.

"Oh dear." Belldandy frowned. "How long has it been since her last one?"

Urd pulled up their electronic version of a punch-clock for reference. "Long enough," she decided. "She gets one of the next few Loops off."

"Will you stop with the whole hurting Fate bit?" he asked irritably. "Even Arf's forgiven me for that. This ain't exactly the time or place for that talk, either, you know- the whole building on fire, people stuck inside thing? Besides, it was almost two years ago- and like I said, if you'd bothered to _tell me_ what the hell was going on, I wouldn't have been nearly as pissed off about it. Ever think of that?"

"Yuuno doesn't care," the girl growled to herself.

"In case you haven't noticed," he said dryly, absently breaking a bit of falling rubble with a wave of air pressure, "I ain't Yuuno Scrya. In this place, at this time, I'm _Ranma_ Scrya, and I do things a bit differently, _Takamachi Nanoha_.

"I'd also like to point out that your Yuuno is _from_ this universe, so he at least has a leg up on me."

"Shouldn't matter," the brunette grumbled. "You're not one of us. Your should just mind your own business."

Ranma rubbed at his temples with one hand, covering his eyes with the palm and making sure that the other was in his pocket. He _hated_ dealing with Nanoha when she was feeling vindictive, and accidentally offing the girl was not on his to-do list today. Especially since her moods seemed to involve him most of the time. "You really need to get out more. If it didn't mean Hogwarts or Eiken, I'd end this Loop myself, just to make sure you go to one of the two. I don't know 'bout you," he said coldly, "but I'm going back to rescuing people." He turned, waving the free hand. Later, kiddo." He turned and went back to work, waving the hand that had been on his face.

"I'm not a kid!" Nanoha snapped from behind him. "I'm just as old as you are!"

"No, Nanoha, you're not." He looked back over a shoulder. "I am older than you will, with any luck, _ever_ be." He continued on his way, ignoring the tirade behind him.

* * *

Ginga had, sure enough, been pulled out by Fate. She held on to consciousness until she was able to check on Subaru and get hold of their father to let him know that they were all right- she felt that it was necessary, in order for him to focus on the fire itself- but after that, the adrenaline gave out and she had more or less collapsed.

Kasumi had kept the fuel depot from going up, but most of the rest of the complex was a complete loss. It had been relatively new, too, only a decade or so old; it was a shame that the TSA would have to shell out for a new one. Still, it was how these things went, sometimes.

At least Fate had given him some heads-up this time. She, at least, was trainable. He very well might have to end up breaking Nanoha in order to get her to grow up, and that would take more time and effort than she warranted right now.

He was a little surprised when a dispersed fylgja let him know that Subaru had accompanied Ginga to a training that week, since she was home. The girls had had a most interesting conversation just inside his Library.

* * *

"Your teacher's Yuuno?" Subaru incredulously asked her older sister.

"Who's Yuuno?" the older girl replied, taking the familiar paths to Ranma's training room.

"The Librarian."

Ginga frowned. "Subaru, you know as well as I do that the Librarian here is Ranma, and has been for years. You've known him as long as I have." She paused. "Are you feeling well? You've been acting a little strange lately."

"I'm fine." The younger girl waved her off. "You'll see. I think I might be up for a match with this 'teacher' of yours."

Ginga just grinned. "If you say so." She opened the panel that hid the entrance to the private wing. She had seen the short-haired girl do a bit of training recently, and while there was a significant jump between what she had been able to do before the fire and now- especially magically- she was no match for her master. The girl had not even noticed their shadows.

She was going to get Ranma to tell her just why one of him shadowed her every time she set foot in the Library. As far as she could tell, he never did it with any of the other visitors- except the ones who were going into the restricted sections or needed an attendant for their research, and those were both documented policy.

Policy Master had written himself, admittedly, but there was still a difference in monitoring someone because they needed it and because you felt like it.

A few minutes later, she knocked on the frame of the odd sliding door that marked the entrance to the training room. "Master," she called, "Subaru came with me today. She said she wanted to see what you could do." She very carefully kept her amusement out of her voice.

"That so," the pigtailed Librarian drawled. "Well, I promised Quint that I'd train her too, if she was ever interested. Gotta wonder what's changed, though. She's turned me down every time I asked. It's been a while since the last time, though, so maybe it's just time. Finally decided to get in shape, kid?" he asked the younger girl.

Subaru just stared. He was _nothing_ like Yuuno. Well, there was a bit of the feel she associated with shape-changers; Yuuno, Zafira, Arf, Vivio and Einheart all had it, but they were about it. Shape-shifters were not exactly common, after all. The similarity ended there, however. He seemed too... physical. She could not keep from blurting, "_You're_ the Librarian?"

He blinked. "Subaru, I've known you for years," he pointed out. "I've been the keeper of the Infinite Library the whole time. The TSA can't afford to fire me, so it won't change."

"You're not Yuuno!"

His gaze sharpened. "Yuuno, huh? Not a name I've heard for a while... 'bout a week, actually, and that's because Nanoha was complaining."

"Nanoha was... What did you do to her?" the young cyborg started, her eyes going gold and slipping into a combat stance.

"What is it with you people?" the young man asked the air. "Always jumping to conclusions." He slipped his hands into his pockets, and Ginga quietly, carefully moved back to the nearest wall. "Do I have to have done something?"

"So you did!"

"Gods. You two are worse than Akane and pig-boy together."

Subaru hesitated at the new names, but decided they were not important. She could take this guy. "If you won't tell me, I'll force it out of you!"

Ginga rested her head in her hands. "Subaru..." she moaned quietly as her younger sister jumped toward her teacher.

"Force it out of me, huh?" the older teen wondered, absently sidestepping her attack. "How are you going to do that if you can't even hit me?" He lazily sidestepped another lunge and tripped the cyborg.

"Stay still!" the girl ranted.

"What is it with you tomboys? All of you say that." This time, he did not even bother sidestepping, just leaning to back slightly to avoid the high roundhouse and tapped her lightly on the calf to give her a bit more momentum, spinning the girl in a full circle. "It's not like you'd hit me anyway. You telegraph too much."

"What's that supposed to mean?! I'm the best at hand-to-hand that I know!"

"Haven't watched your sister practice lately, have you." He looked over to the older cyborg, blushing visibly through her hands. "Was she just quiet around me for some reason?"

The older girl sighed. "No, Master. She has only been like this for a few days- since the big fire. Were you there?"

He nodded, stepping around a wild, if fast, punch. "I pulled those civvies out you left under the shield when you went to go find this one." He indicated his attacker, now panting in fury. "Really should have stayed there, made sure they were all right, you know."

"Yes, Master, but I needed to find her. I have to look after her, after all."

"Stop treating me like a little kid!" the other girl shouted, this time trying a slightly more controlled hook. It came exactly as close as every other swing she had taken- no closer, no further.

It was absolutely _infuriating_. He couldn't be doing that without some sort of magic. She decided to up the ante a little.

"Won't take me seriously, huh?" she growled. "Revolver Shoot!"

"Hey!" her opponent barked, backhanding the energy bolt back at her. "No combat magic in the library!"

"Let's see you get around this!" the cyborg crowed, catching the beam and forming it into a ball. "_Divine!_"

"Oh, no, you don't," the older boy snapped, suddenly holding a naked blade. "Not in my Library!" A sudden wave of pressure lashed out at her, then a wave of _emptiness_, the first slamming her against the wall and the second snuffing out the half-formed spell. He stalked over to the pinned girl and carefully poked a pair of points where her deltoids connected to her collarbone. "No magic for you. Not until you learn some control," he commanded angrily. "Maybe then I'll think about it." He pulled the girl off the wall and let the pressure slam her back into it face first. A finger glowed briefly, and he stabbed it against her lower back.

"Subaru!" Ginga shouted worriedly as the named girl screamed.

"Don't worry," he assured Ginga, "she'll be fine. She really does need to learn some control, though." He looked at her thoughtfully. "I think I'm going to have a talk with her. She should know better than to try to use a spell like that in the Library. She's lucky I left her conscious- or didn't just let the Library take care of her itself."

"What did you do to me?" the girl groaned.

"Oh, just a few pressure points. You should be able to move your arms in a little bit. Ginga, training's off for today. Your little sister and I need to have a chat about personal responsibility. Let Genya know I'll be bringing her home when I'm done, and I'll talk with him then."

The cadet nodded mournfully. "Yes, Master." She sadly walked out the door without even a look back.

"Ginga... What did you do to her? She'd never leave me like that!" the still-pinned girl muttered into the wall.

"I'm her teacher, and she knows I'm right. Now, as for you..." He considered the girl and the sword dissipated. Whatever force was holding her up let her gently slide the half-meter to the floor. "You're the one that's supposed to end up on Nanoha's team."

"How do you..." A light clicked on behind Subaru's eyes. "_You know!_"

"Well, _duh_," the Anchor snapped irritably. "What was your first clue? That I knew Yuuno's name, or that I know a bit of the future?"

"You're not one of us..." the girl snarled.

An eyebrow went up. "Oh, no? How do you explain everything, then?"

"Something happened to Vivio, and Fate and Nanoha..."

"Went and broke causality," he sighed. "For a civilization ruled by an organization that calls itself the 'Time-Space Administration Bureau,' you people do some stupid shit."

"You don't know-"

"What is _wrong_ with you people?" he angrily cut her off, flickering into a semi-human form. "Just because you don't see a familiar face, you assume they don't know how the hell things go!" He waved a hand angrily, and the girl was pulled back to her feet and slammed into the wall again, back-first this time. "I have more experience with energy manipulation than any one mortal you will _ever_ meet! Nanoha didn't even _try_ to teach me how magic is done here, and I'm _still_ better at it than she is! If she didn't want you around for some reason, I'd leave that damn moxibustion point on for the next decade!"

"Moxibustion?" the girl asked, confused.

"What do you think I did to your back, idiot?" he asked irritably, bouncing her off the wall a third time. "Locking up your arms wouldn't keep you from doing magic, if you were any good at it to begin with, and you _have_ to learn control. If you don't, I'll just leave it on, and damn what that midget wants."

"Nanoha? Midget?" Something was seriously going wrong here.

He pinned her to the wall again, her eyes level with his. "You and Ginga will be coming back here after you finish up with classes tomorrow," he commanded. "If you don't have classes, you will show up at eight in the morning. I will meet you here, release the seal, and you two will spar- just to show you how _crappy_ you are, little Miss I Am The Best. And then, when Ginga is done mopping the floor with you, she will have a ten minute rest break, during which I will restore the damn moxibustion- and don't think that I don't know you cyborgs don't even need that!- and then _I_ will proceed to mop the floor with _her_. There will be an AMF up the whole damn time, sustained by one of my fylgja from outside the door, so you can't say that I'm using magic- and if you don't believe me, AMF or no, call up your captain or the Wolkenritter- or, hell, Kasumi, if you even know who that is- and ask _them_ why I don't use magic that much."

He paused for a breath. "After that, you _will_ be coming here every day, and I _will_ beat control into that thick skull of yours. May all the gods help you if you think you don't need it, because from what Fate's told me, you're going to need that strength of yours. If I have to break you to teach you, I will, and damn the consequences." He glared at the younger girl. "Just because you've been through this a few dozen times doesn't mean you know shit. _Especially_ when I'm involved."

"Two hundred-"

"Two hundred or twenty four, it might as well be the same." He ignored the girl's protest, absently resuming his human form. "Damn shape-shifting spells. You'd think that I, of all people, would have no problems with it. At least it's not water-based. I've told the other three Awakened I've run into the same thing. Why is it that the only one that takes me seriously is the male?" He looked at her seriously. "I am older than almost any mortal you will ever meet. I _think_ Ichigo's older, but that's because his Loop drags on until the entropic death of his universe if you're not careful about it."

"Ichigo?" Between the info dump and the repeated bouncing off the wall, Subaru was a little out of it.

"I swear, I should have someone write up a pamphlet on this," the young man sighed, letting her slump to the ground.

"You did, Ranma," a tiny girl said as she manifested, sitting on his shoulder for comfort. The odd dark highlights bled out of his hair. "A few hundred millennia ago. I think we've still got copies. Want me to look?"

He nodded, and she disappeared.

The cyborg gaped. "You have a Unison-?!" Her eyes narrowed. "You were Unisoned, you damn cheater!"

Ranma ran a hand through his hair. "Why does everyone think that? Lilith isn't a Device, she's a seal. Sort of. It's complicated, but if I use too much power at once, a universe turns into a cosmic black hole. We're not talking about me, though. We're talking about what _you're_ going to do to get me to let you have your magic back.

"The seal I've put on you can be taken off in stages, if you prove to me you can control yourself. If you can't... well, like I've said, I'll leave it on, and I'll probably end up doing what you were supposed to, because you can't hack it.

"Do you understand?"

The young girl nodded blankly, and the Librarian sighed. "I see. Well, let's go talk to your father."

* * *

Genya had _not_ been pleased with Subaru's actions. Aside from school and training with Ranma- which she _would_ be attending, he promised her, she was grounded indefinitely. He had also wholeheartedly endorsed the seal, and "reminded" Subaru that every time Quint had faced off against Ranma, she had lost. Badly. Quickly.

Ginga, once she got over the rather... extreme, in her eyes, measures her teacher had taken, had also looked forward to her fight with her sister. Just to see how far she had come, of course. She was also looking forward to gauging herself against her Master.

The fights had also gone as predicted, with one difference; Vita and Signum had dropped by for one of their periodic bouts, although they had requisitioned a training field for theirs. Subaru, despite _feeling_ the AMF in the room, had tried the "Divine Buster" again. This time, Ranma did not step in to interfere, and watched calmly as Ginga used one of the techniques he had imported and modified from aikido to not only completely disarm the forming spell, but redirect its energy against Subaru herself. He then pointed out that, if the energy concentration had gone any higher, the Library would have shut down every magical link in the wing. It would greatly inconvenience him, but it was also why he still used shadow clones out on the floor.

His fight with Ginga had been even shorter. He praised her, however, for the progress she had made while with the Ground Forces training center.

Subaru was shocked and dismayed.

They had then gone to the Wolkenritter's training field; Shamal was there, setting it up for them.

"Not gonna use magic, huh?" Vita asked.

"You know why," he grunted. "Don't need it to fly, don't need it to make a sword, and you know how my spells work."

"Freezing Cranagan would be somewhat extreme," Signum agreed with a grin.

"Freeze Cranagan?" Subaru quietly demanded of the nearby Knight of the Lake.

"It is one of his middle tier, artillery-class wide-area spells," the blonde explained. "Well, he says it is, anyway; it is called 'Fimbulvetr.' It is a long, slow, weather spell, and if he is not careful about it, drops the temperature everywhere in the universe to absolute zero. His only other direct combat spell that I have seen manifests a sword of fire."

"Signum has that," the girl pointed out. "So I've heard, anyway,"she quickly added.

"Signum has a spell that _looks_ like a sword of fire, but it only exists for an instant," Shamal corrected her. "Ranma's 'Surtr' is pure, elemental fire, and it is as dangerous as 'Fimbulvetr,' if on a much more local scale. It is a sword, after all, just not a force of nature."

"And those are his _low-level_ spells?" Ginga asked, astonished.

The woman nodded. "For combat, yes; that is what he tells us. He has any number of support and utility spells, though. None of us have seen his upper tier combat magic, but he said that one tends to eat universes." She paused, fingers hovering over the translucent keyboard. "I do not think he has ever used it, outside of tightly controlled practice sessions. I have seen him after those, however, and he always looks shaken."

The girls gaped; Ginga could not imagine _anything_ shaking her teacher. Subaru, on the other hand, could not imagine anyone with that kind of power.

Ranma set up across from the two Cloud Knights. "Hey, Shamal, this place monitored?"

"I have deactivated what I can, but we are still on Mid," she pointed out. "It is not like you can just leave the planet."

The teenager sighed. "Good enough, I suppose. Hey, can you pull up the magic usage charts for all of us? I think the kid there is going to need it. She doesn't believe me about Lilith."

"Lilith?" Ginga asked.

"She is part of a seal," the knight said, pulling up the requested screen. "I do not know too much about it, to be honest; Kasumi does not like to talk about it. It seems to frighten her, and so we do not press her. Trying to force information out of Ranma, we have found, is... unwise." She smiled lightly. "She almost finds it entertaining, as long as Ranma plays nicely with them when they try," the blonde continued, using a momentarily free hand to indicate the two knights on the field, setting up their barrier jackets.

"Kasumi?" Subaru mouthed. "Isn't he going to set up a barrier jacket?" she asked.

"Master does not need to," her older sister said proudly. "You'll see."

"Are you ready, Ranma?" the pink-haired knight asked.

He nodded. "You, Vita?"

So did the small redhead. "Let's go!" she shouted, jetting toward the Librarian, bringing Graf Eisen across for a blow to the ribs.

Ranma danced backward, and then forward again when Signum abruptly appeared behind him, pushing the warhammer further across Vita's body. The redhead spun with the motion before finding herself captured in a bear hug low on her body, spun to face her ally, and suplexed head-first into the ground.

"Vita!" Shamal called out before thinking to check their status screens. "Oh, good, she is alright," she sighed with relief.

As Ranma released her, the girl slumped over, her head stuck in the ground. Even as he dashed toward the Sword Knight, however, she was already struggling to free herself.

Signum waited for him, and as soon as he was in range, launched an overhand blow. He slapped the flat to the outside and delivered a pair of crushing hammer-blows of his own. She twisted to avoid them, but one still landed heavily on her collarbone.

Behind him, Vita finally freed herself, and jumped into the fray with a roar, swinging Graf Eisen in an underhanded arc. With the ease of long practice, Signum dodged backwards just as she arrived, and Ranma took to the air to avoid the low blow. He smirked, and a ball of light collected in his hand.

"He said he wasn't going to use magic!" Subaru objected.

"He isn't," Ginga pointed out, indicating the chart displaying his magic use. "He has been at a steady level this whole time, and all of that is probably going into running the Library."

"But he's flying!" The idea seemed completely incomprehensible to her.

"Master is fond of saying that magic is not the only way of doing things," her older sister observed as a wave of light lashed out against Signum's shields.

"You've found a way to block it," he said, surprised, floating aside as Vita attempted another body blow.

"It took a while," she admitted, flashing up to his level; once again, he was stuck between them.

This time, though, he dropped into an odd spin, letting Graf Eisen and Levantine come together.

He continued dropping, pushing off the ground to rocket back up toward them. A ball of energy dragged itself into a bar of light, and he brought it up to stab at the pink-haired boob monster- Vita's phrase; it was not like he had room to talk, with how his female form was.

She was already gone, using her momentum to twist up and over Vita. The redhead continued her downward strike; Graf Eisen hit the bar, scattering it.

"Ha!" the girl barked, "got you! Hey, where'd you- AGH!" A pair of punches hit her hard on the kidneys, and she dropped again.

"She's down," Shamal announced. "Ginga, be a dear and go get her?" The purple-haired girl nodded and dashed out. "Ranma, please, play nice. We need those kidneys, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, whaterver," he said, focusing on the current threat.

Levantine clanged, loading a cartridge. "_Schlangenform!_" The whip-like blade lashed out, surrounding the remaining knight in a web of steel.

"You can only keep that up so long, Signum," he called.

"I only need to," she said from behind him, Levantine on fire and in her hand.

"Huh?" He danced backward. "What about the _Schlangenform_?"

"You use illusion magic yourself, Ranma," she pointed out; Levantine came across in yet another body blow, before slamming forward in a lightning-quick stab. "How do you know which one's real?"

The younger fighter simply smirked. The stab pierced him through, and the afterimage faded into nothing. "Where'd you go?!" the knight demanded.

"Here!" Another wave of force slammed at her; this one was followed by a nearly-invisible shimmer. It caught Levantine close to the hilt, leaving a significant gap in the metal. Three meters above her and to the side, Ranma paused. "Do you want to continue?"

She inspected Levantine briefly. "This is no battle, and my partners are injured. I concede."

Subaru eyed the Librarian carefully. She had been wrong, somewhere, underestimated him... now, just to figure out how...

* * *

Ginga left at the end of the week. Her first letter home indicated that, until the end of her training and until her permanent duty station commander permitted it, she would not be able to further her training with Ranma. It was regrettable, but orders were orders.

She had seemed amused; the instructors had been shocked when they found out that she considered herself still in training, and from an unorthodox source, at that.

That was about the time certain individuals that might, just might, possibly, be associated with the TSA Ground Forces training command showed up and challenged Ranma in various forms of combat. He accepted the physical and weapon ones- the ones who practiced the Neo-Belka style- but turned down the ones who challenged him to magical combat. The instructors investigators mages took that to mean that he was lacking in that particular realm. They enjoyed that, laughed about it, and then, when they made their report, were shown his official file. The one that said that he was the Librarian of the Infinite Library because he took down the cursed _Book of Darkness_ by himself, using a spell that was, at least as far as was officially concerned, unique.

They stopped laughing after that.

Subaru, like her older sister, received two years of training before going to the training center, and had even been freed from the Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion. By then, Ginga was a corporal, working with the inspector general's office; she had still not been permitted to officially continue her training- something about taking unnecessary risks. Her first hand-to-hand training session, Subaru was pulled aside, interviewed quickly for her involvement with one Ranma Scrya, otherwise known as the Librarian of the Infinite Library, and forbidden her from seeking further training for much the same reasons as they forbade Ginga.

The younger cyborg's letter sounded relieved, unlike her older sister's. He had been much harder on her than he had been on Ginga- mostly because Ginga already _had_ self control.

About then, Fate brought by and introduced him to -Lindy's- her adoptive children, Erio Mondial, and Caro ru Lushe and her summon-slash-familiar Friedliche, both of whom were already Awake.

He was starting to wonder if there was _anyone_ on their teams that was not. It was a little creepy. He still had yet to meet the other member of Nanoha's team- one Teana Lanster- but he figured that it would only be a matter of time.

He also received a visit from a dead man- Zest Grangeitz.

* * *

Zest had been dead for six years. He knew this for a fact.

The man in front of him, however, had also proven himself to be Zest Grangeitz, quoting back his impromptu lecture on the different energy types.

It was a little disturbing, especially when one considered the man's version of events as opposed to the "official" reports.

"So... why aren't you checking in with the authorities?" Ranma asked, incredibly confused. Zest was no shinigami; he would be able to tell, and Ichigo would have shown up to screw with him by now. On the other hand, he was no cyborg, either. Truth told, he felt like a twisted version of Fate- still him, but _not_, all at the same time.

"Who do you think handed me over to this?" The older man's face twisted. "Someone told them we were coming. I think I know who."

"Tell me," the young man demanded. "I've been working on this for six years, and I've got a perfectly legal way to bring them in, flay them alive, and then keep them alive for at least another six."

Zest shook his head. "No. Not yet. I have some questions I need to ask him, first, and it would be better for me to handle it. I'm already dead, after all."

"Like they'd care," the Librarian snorted. "The Council learned not to try to tug my leash a long time ago." His completely locking them out of the Library databases four years back had generated a most amusing reaction; they sent a negotiator, and then, when that failed, they had tried to blackmail him. Once again, he had laughed at what they dug up.

Their third, final, and most doomed attempt had involved sending a team to try to force their way in.

They had made it out... but none of them had more than a trace amount of magic left. The whole operation was still highly classified, and Ranma had made it clear that, should _any_ of the members of that team disappear or end up involved in government research projects, he would release whole thing to the general public- including the information they had tried to -overwrite- -modify- -retcon- censor.

The team was living a life of modest means from medical pensions. Ranma still checked up on them every so often. You had to make sure that they kept their end of the bargain, after all. The High Council was _not_ noted for keeping their word.

It made more sense once he had identified them as Genma, Cologne and Happosai. Even in the Prime Loop, those three tried to twist everything to their advantage.

"Still," Zest insisted, "I need to deal with this myself. Besides, Scaglietti still has Megane and her daughter."

"Hold on," Ranma cut in. "Alpine's alive?"

The dead mage nodded grimly. "If you can call it that. She is in a preservation vat, unconscious, but still alive."

Ranma frowned. "How did they get her daughter? Didn't she have a will in place?"

The brunet sighed. "She did... but the Council is not always... scrupulous in its dealings. The document was 'misplaced.'"

"It figures," Ranma muttered. He scratched his head. "Anything I can do?"

The older man shook his head again. "I'll let you know if there is."

"Please," the pigtailed young man agreed. "We need to get her away from him. I can offer her sanctuary, if it comes to that."

"Scaglietti told her that he is the only one that can revive her mother," the mage told him. "I can't convince her otherwise, and even if I could, how could I get the vat out of there?"

"There are ways," the black-haired teen said. "If you can't convince her, though, it's a moot point. Keep in touch. Let me know if anything changes."

The dead man nodded and walked out.

* * *

It was yet another reason to punish whomever had killed Quint and gotten Vita and Nanoha hurt. He honestly liked the redhead- she was one of the few women not actively trying to climb into his pants; Arf seemed to be almost Zafira-sexual; Fate was never overt, but she still tried. Nanoha, once she had (finally!) gotten over the whole making-Fate-cry thing, was nice, too... as long as she, again, was not trying to get him to hop in bed with him. Or the janitor's closet, or one of any number of convenient places. Receiving come-ons from what looked like a nine-year-old was definitely creepy.

So far, the record was about two hours. That had been under extraordinary circumstances, though- it had been an anniversary of some sort, and she had been so focused on Fate it was silly.

Subaru was still slightly afraid of him. Well, and her partner- who, apparently, was _not_ named Teana Lanster this time around; he had yet to pull the name out of her, though, and did not honestly care enough to go look it up himself.

Ginga was stuck rather firmly on worshiping him. She was content to do it from afar, however... and from a social setting. He was not her type, it seemed.

Kasumi, the rest of the Wolkenritter, and the female population of Mid-childia in general and Cranagan in specific, alternated between trying to get him under the covers and trying to set him up with someone. This had led to rather more security modifications to the Library than planned. On the flip side, he was finally able to sell the "disruptive events" to the budget committee. They had commissioned a state-of-the-art security system for the Library... one he had rather firmly redesigned, using components and methodology in ways that the -professional thieves- security specialists and forces had never even considered.

He was still trying to decide whether or not that was a good thing.

He was surprised when Kasumi, Chrono, and a new blonde called him up and asked him to back a special, trial version of a new unit. If it worked, there may eventually be more formed along similar lines. He had known he had power, but not that much.

It made more sense when they told him that they would be specializing in locating and safely disposing of Lost Logia. He may not be the expert that the man whose shoes he was filling was, but he still knew more than most of the people in TSA space. He and Chrono would be the more public backers; the blonde- the Knight Carim Gracia, of the Sankt Church- and Chrono's mother, the retired Admiral Lindy Harlaown, as well as the Three Admirals, would be more behind the scenes.

Since they would be officially working for General Gaiz, through Chrono, his involvement would drive the man nuts. Maybe this time, he really _would_ give the old man a heart attack.

* * *

"Let me think about it for a bit. I'll let you know if I have questions," Ranma told the blonde.

"That is all that I can ask, right now," the knight replied. "I need to get back to the Church; we have a staff meeting in an hour, and I want to review the material first."

"Gotta love meetings," Ranma said. "I'll be in touch." After Carim walked out, he shot a questioning look at Chrono and Kasumi. "How much of this was Nanoha and Fate's idea?"

Kasumi smiled vapidly. "Oh, Ranma, but surely you would never doubt my intentions?" She batted her eyes at him.

"Kasumi, the whole innocent thing won't work on me," the Librarian said flatly. "I know better."

The junior admiral shrugged. "It was Hayate's, actually, but she's not around now. I just pointed out that it might be a good idea."

The pigtailed young man nodded. "Well, pissing off Regisus Gaiz is always a worthy cause. I think I've got a bone to pick with him, too."

"So..." Chrono trailed off, trying to draw a firm answer from the pigtailed Anchor.

The other man sighed. "Yes, I'll do it. I'll let that knight of yours stew for a few days first, though. Want to make sure she thinks I'm really thinking about it. So, how are Amy and the kids doing?"

Kasumi leaned forward eagerly. "Yes, it has been quite a while since I have seen them. They must be getting big."

Chrono smiled proudly. "Well..."


	5. Chapter 5: Training

It was a few months before he met the girls again. They had just finished conducting Subaru's combat ranking test when they walked into his office.

Kasumi was smiling widely. That was not a good thing.

"Ranma," Nanoha asked absently, "does the name Nabiki Lanster mean anything to you?"

"Nabiki Lanster?" He paused and took another look at Kasumi. "It's her, isn't it," he said.

The brunette grinned and nodded. "And my little sister will be working for me!" she cheered.

"Wait... Is Akane here too?" he asked worriedly.

The Lieutenant Colonel sighed, "If she is, I have not seen her yet. It would be nice, though, to have all of us together, wouldn't it?"

"Not really, no," he answered. "Akane and me don't get along well anymore. I don't let her get away with thinking that world revolves around her. Shampoo's crazy, and Ukyou's just gone odd on us. Don't even get me _started_ on Kodachi." The long Loops had, oddly enough, driven the Kuno girl sane. She was generally tolerable, but as bad as Sakura was, in her own way.

Her thing was plants, not yaoi. That led directly to bondage and tentacle situations, and he had been involved in quite enough of those, thank you very much. On both sides, no less.

Kasumi made a moue of disappointment, but acknowledged the point. "She could tell that you trained Subaru, and asked her to not let you know she was here. I think she was trying to avoid drawing your attention. My being her unit commander changed things." She shrugged. "At least you will not be directly involved in her training, or at least, that's how she sees it."

Ranma shook his head. "Hand-to-hand and with basic ranged weapons, she's already a match for people here. Nanoha, Fate, and your Wolkenritter would be better teachers for her when it comes to how the local magic works." He frowned at the other brunette. "If she actually decides to teach for once."

Nanoha laughed. "She's part of my team. It's my job to train her up right."

"It was your job to make sure I was taught right, too," Ranma pointed out. "You didn't bother with that."

"You," Nanoha sniffed, "are untrainable."

Ranma started twitching, and Kasumi and Reinforce bit down hard on their lips to keep from laughing.

After a moment, Ranma grated, "You know, Nanoha, it's amazing how I was able to learn from Chrono and Fate, but not you. Real impressed with the professional teachers here."

The brunette shrugged. "I train people perfectly well," she said. "It works out better when they aren't incompetent to begin with."

"Ain't my fault you've never been able to knock me on my ass. Who was trying to tell me that your magic and physics aren't the same thing, anyway?"

"Anyway," Fate cut in, trying to defuse another long debate, "why doesn't Nabiki want you to know she's here?"

He pursed his lips, and the not-quite-a-sentient-Device thing that was the Infinite Library generated an extra chair in front of his desk. "How much do you know?" he asked Kasumi.

"She never talks about it. I remember a few Loops where you were putting her back together, but that is really about it."

He nodded. "Nabiki, in the Prime Loop, is a manipulative bitch." He paused again, and a tray of water glasses appeared on the desk. "Thank you," he said- presumably to the Library; none of the others were quite sure. "Go ahead, take one," he encouraged his guests. "She goes for what she wants, and damn whoever gets in her way. Most of the time, it's just small stuff- she enjoyed messing with people's heads, for example." He took a sip. "I fixed that. It wasn't nice, it wasn't easy, and it took a long time... but it's not like I had much else to do. She's been one of my main students, since then- her, Lina and Keiichi. It's more of a survival thing for him, though. My guess is that she wanted a Loop off." He smiled evilly. "You know, I'm tempted to show up to one of your training sessions, Nanoha," he said, "just to give them a scare. You know, do the 'Evil Master' bit."

"I have no idea what you mean," the brunette Anchor said loftily. Fate giggled, though. "If you're really interested, I can start you on a personal regimen," she offered. "Evil Mistress and all." The chibi leered.

Fate landed a slap on the back of the girl's head. "Nanoha, down. What did he say about nine-year-olds?"

"But I'm nineteen!" she whined.

"You don't look it," her partner reminded her. "And maybe, just maybe, if you had not insulted a goddess, you would look your age."

"Fine." Nanoha sulked. "You stay away from my training ground," she ordered Ranma.

"I'll think about it. I am supposed to be reviewing your performance, you know. I'm not just a source." He looked over to Fate. "I think I've found that Cradle of yours. It's pretty impressive... for a culture that thinks they haven't done anything science-y in the last century. Not bad for physical defense, either."

The blonde nodded. "It is, isn't it."

"What do you want me to do with it? It's not like I can shrink it down and put it on display." He hesitated. "Well, I _could_, but it'd be a little obvious, and people would ask where I'd gotten it. You know, I thought I knew about big spaceships... and I did, but that one's still pretty big."

He tilted his head to the side. "I guess I could always say that it was a model I found in one of the back rooms." A screen opened in front of him. "What's this supposed to be? Hey, I _do_ have a model!" Clones immediately split off to go put the thing together.

Kasumi blinked slowly. "Ranma," she said carefully, "when was the last time you spoke to someone personally? I mean, you, yourself, and not through a clone or a phone?" She quickly added, "Clones don't count."

He blinked back. "Does it matter?"

"You are, ah, talking to yourself, Ranma," Fate pointed out delicately.

"If you're going crazy, I can just Bind you and put you in a closet," Nanoha offered.

Another slap connected. "Hey! It's an honest offer!" the brunette objected. "I'd even let him out once in a while."

"I suppose it would be your closet," Reinforce said dryly.

The Ace blinked. "Well, of course; I can't offer someone else's, can I?"

Fate paused. "Nanoha, when did you get a closet?"

"Why, it's the one I've been out of for years, dear." It was Fate's turn to get leered at.

Ranma coughed. "And on that note, I'm going to say no."

He was ignored. "Nanoha," Fate said calmly, "I do not think you were ever _in_ a closet. The only person that would have surprised me less would be Hayate."

"Oh my," Kasumi said, "is she really like that?"

"No," Reinforce reassured her, "Mistress Hayate is just... really affectionate, toward those she cares about."

"You've never spent much time around her, then," Nanoha said dryly.

"Anyway," Ranma announced, trying to get the conversation back on topic, "the Library says that an old inventory says that there's a box in the storage area. You can go on talking about whatever, but I'm going to go do that, 'kay?"

"Ranma, what would you want to do that for?" Nanoha asked. "If you want to play with a box, I've got one-" _THWAP!_ "Ouch! Fate!" the chibi whined. "Stop hitting me!"

"When you stop with the bad come-ons," the larger girl snapped. "I'm sorry, Ranma, I do not know what it is with her today. She-"

"Whatever." He waved her off. "Ain't that much worse than normal." He considered that for a moment. "Okay, it is, but I'm kinda used to it. I've heard it all before."

"And done it all," Kasumi added.

"Kasumi!" the man snapped, shocked.

"You have," the girl pointed out. "With girls, I mean. I cannot say that I have ever seen you with a male. Well, not as you, anyway."

The Librarian shuddered. "Let's not go there. Anyway, you can show yourselves out. I'm gonna go play with my model."

"I've got- OW!" Nanoha rubbed the back of her head. "Dammit, Fate! Stop that!"

Fate rubbed her hand; it was starting to get sore. "You have been a bad girl, Nanoha," the blonde said ominously. "You know what I do with bad girls."

The brunette perked up instantly. "Hey, Ranma," she asked, "does that teleport shield of yours block 'ports out?"

He blinked. "Not from here, no, but-"

"Great!" The girl grabbed her significant other, and a magic circle formed under them. They were abruptly elsewhere.

"If you're not me, it strips you, sets you on fire, and dumps you in the park." He sighed and shrugged. At least she was not here.

"Oh my," Kasumi observed, "that could kill the mood."

"Just a bit, Mistress," Reinforce noted. She grinned at her Mistress. "So, now that she is gone..."

"Ah!" The Mistress of the Night Sky clapped her hands. "You have a promise to make up to me, Ranma..."

The girls began advancing. Ranma decided that life and work were the better parts of valor and hightailed it out of the office, Kasumi and the Blessed Wind hot on his heels.

* * *

Much, much later, after the chase had ended, Kasumi, exhausted and flat on her back, asked, "So... To whom were you speaking, anyway?"

"Eh?" Ranma sat up. "The Library, of course."

Reinforce rolled over onto her belly and gave him a Look. "Since when has the Library been able to talk?"

"It's a Device that runs the largest database in this universe," he pointed out. "Maybe in the multiverse; I don't really have anything to compare it to. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because it's not programmed to be?" the Lost Logia proposed irritably.

"Who says?" He grinned. "Besides, I think it can kinda do that itself," he added seriously.

"Really?" Kasumi rolled to her right side. "I had not thought that was possible, unless it was already intelligent."

"I don't really know." The pigtailed Anchor shrugged. "It's got so much data stuffed into it, I think it just sort of hit critical mass or something. I don't know if it's really intelligent or if it's some kind of emulation, and I don't think I wanna find out."

Reinforce raised an eyebrow. "You could just ask."

"You think I haven't tried?" he sighed. "It just pulls something philosophical- the last one was something along the lines of 'what is intelligence, anyway?-' and changes the topic."

"I would think that indicated some kind of intelligence," Kasumi pointed out.

He shrugged. "I really don't wanna know, and it doesn't wanna say. I ain't gonna force it."

The Blessed Wind nodded. "I can see where that may be a bad idea," she agreed.

"What about you?" he asked.

The silver-haired woman waved that off. "I was sentient to begin with." A cute, if somewhat disturbing, frown crossed her face. "At least, I think I was. I cannot seem to remember my creation... but then, it was very long ago." She shrugged.

"Well, what about your masters?" the brunette proposed. "Do you remember them talking about it?"

"Not really," her Device responded. "They never really spoke to me."

Ranma chuckled. "That'd be a hoot. The Library being some sort of Unison device."

The others nodded.

* * *

"Everyone, please do your best!" Kasumi, as the incoming commander of a newly-activated unit, wrapped up her speech.

There was the obligatory applause, of course. It was a little more enthusiastic than normal; once Reinforce had gotten it into her head that the support staff was completely capable of doing their own jobs, they fell totally in love with her.

The forwards were a different matter. Nabiki looked to be a little nervous about serving under her sister, and the other three missed Hayate and their regularly scheduled teammate.

"Dismissed!" Reinforce announced, and the group scattered to the winds.

Ranma stepped out of the shadows. "How did you like it?" he asked. "Being a section commander, I mean."

"It is a big job," Kasumi replied. "I should be fine, though. So far, it is not unlike running a household... a very large household."

"Wait until something happens," he told her. "Everything changes then. Have you had a chance to take a look at the case files that the Church gave me?"

She nodded. "What is it with this world and crystal energy matrices? Other Loops do not seem to use them nearly as much..."

Ranma shrugged. "It's metaphysics again. I don't know why they're locking all the energy up in the rocks, though. There's got to be better storage media than fake gemstones. At least the Jewel Seeds fill themselves back up."

Reinforce looked over and joined the conversation. "We don't know that these 'relics' do not do the same thing," she pointed out. "They may do something completely different. If we knew what they were, they would not be Lost Logia."

"And you'd know," the man sighed, earning himself a nod.

"Nanoha will want to start training," Kasumi advised him, "so she and the forwards will be going to the training ground. We have a meeting to attend at Central, however."

"Joy," the Librarian said flatly. "Briefings and military politics. Right up my alley."

"Will you be attending?" Reinforce asked.

"Don't have a choice," he pointed out. "This me, though, is staying put. The original's gonna meet you at the HQ building." He grinned. "I get to watch Nanoha try to train the kids."

"That ought to be interesting," Reinforce agreed. "I would offer to keep you company, but I have to go with the Mis- er, with the Commander," the silver-haired Device corrected herself.

"Have fun," he smirked, and offered a little wave. "See you there."

* * *

"So," the Ranma-clone said to Nanoha, "what are you going to have them up against?"

"I was thinking the _Book of Darkness_," Nanoha proposed.

"You sure that's a good idea?" he asked. "I mean, she's the squadron superintendent. It's not like she's just a piece of history."

"They know," Nanoha argued. "It's not like they haven't seen her before, at one point or another."

"Nabiki doesn't," he pointed out. "It gonna be the one from your Prime Loop or the one I put down?"

"Hey!" the brunette said indignantly, "I helped!"

"Yeah," he sniped back, "but who took out the Defense Program?"

"Who almost got fried by the Arc en Ciel?" she shot back. "The local one, of course. I'm not going to completely revamp a perfectly valid simulation just for this."

"I think Subaru and Nabiki could take it," he set. "Bet?"

"You're on."

* * *

"You've all been around for a while," Nanoha told the forwards through the screens, "so Mister Scrya and I have a bit of a challenge for you."

"He's there?" Subaru asked nervously.

"Sounds like it," Erio chipped in.

Nanoha completely ignored them. "We have the _Book of Darkness_, as fought this Loop. Your objective is to put it down and rescue its contractor."

Nabiki sighed. "Let me guess: ancient lost artifact that sucks up souls, possibly to summon demons or raise the dead?"

"Well, I've never seen it raise the dead, but I wouldn't call the Wolkenritter demons if I were you," Nanoha said. "The sucking up souls bit is pretty close, though. It eats Linker Cores."

"Okay... So we put it down and rescue a hostage. What's the catch?" the stand-in elaborated.

"Eh?" Nanoha asked, taken off-guard by the question.

"What's the catch? That sounds too simple."

"It can eat the members of your team, and after you rescue the hostage, you've got to come up with a way to kill it more or less permanently."

Nabiki blinked. "Ranma?" she asked, "is that you?"

"Got me, Nabs," he chuckled.

"You _bastard_! What the hell have you done to me this time?"

Looks like that mental trauma had not quite worked its way out of her system yet.

"Just a bit of innocent training."

"The last time you said that, you were throwing asteroids at me!"

"Asteroids?" Caro asked faintly.

"You learned to dodge really fast, didn't you?" he pointed out.

"Asteroids?" Caro asked again, a little louder this time.

"That's not the point!"  
"Asteroids?!" Caro demanded.

"Oh, come on," he sighed, "it's not like she couldn't take it."

That earned Nabiki some odd looks. "Breaking Point training, solar system style," she sighed. "Later. Ranma, why are you having us fight this."

"_Asteroids!_"

"I'm not. Nanoha is."

"Same difference. Why are we fighting this?"

"It is _not_ the same!" Stars-1 protested. "You're all too good for the gadgets, and Ranma says Nabiki can handle it."

"She can," Subaru assured her. "You saw her during the test."

"Well, then, any objections? Good!" Nanoha chirped, ignoring the still-spluttering Caro.

* * *

"You should all be familiar with the term 'Lost Logia,'" Kasumi began. "As a summary, they are the remnants of ancient, fallen civilizations, and are found on many worlds. They come in many shapes and sizes. Section Six was formed to investigate one such Lost Logia: the Class One crystalline energy source known as 'Relics.'"

"Relics have been discovered four times that we know of," Fate said. "In each case, the discovery led to large-scale disasters. The most recent one was four years ago, and that caused the destruction of a major transport hub...."

The meeting pressed on with few changes. Finally, one of the observing staff members asked, "What does the Librarian have to say about it?"

The pigtailed Anchor stood from his chair along the back wall. "They've covered what we know about Relics. Is that what you're asking?"

"The whole situation," the staffer, a major, asked. "The Relics, the gadget drones, the labs, and the Lost Logia."

Ranma scratched the back of his head. "Whoever it is, doing this," he said finally, "has some backing in the TSAB. I don't know who, and the investigators' reports and the courts will have the final say. It's one of the reasons for Section Six; they're following the Relic angle."

"What about you?" the same major asked.

"Me?" he asked, somewhat startled. "Why would I be doing anything? I'm just a librarian."

Nobody believed that for a second.

"All I can do is watch the flow of data and the Lost Logia. They don't just gather together on their own. Well, most of them don't. I'll be backing up Section Six and the other investigative teams with data as requested. I have their standing intelligence requirements, and given their mission statements, they're very reasonable."

"You could just answer the question," the blonde officer said flatly. She sighed. "Well, you're not being helpful. No further questions."

"I'm an archivist, not a front-line politico or soldier-mage," Ranma muttered, sitting down.

Fate jumped on the opening. "If there are no further questions... Have a nice night."

* * *

"Subaru, Erio, you keeping up?" Nabiki asked.

"So far," the young clone panted.

"Yep," the cyborg agreed.

"Good, because she's been using some moves from Ranma's family school."

"He has a school?" Erio asked, stunned.

"Really, I would have thought Fate would have told you about that," Nanoha grumbled into the link.

"Down, Nanoha," the clone cautioned her.

"Oh, I'll go down- _ouch!_ It was just an innocent offer! You don't have to be so mean!" the instructor complained. "If you wanted to play rough, we at least need a safe- _OW!_ Stop hitting me, dammit!"

"Go on, Nabs," Ranma encouraged her.

"She's using Yamasen-ken, isn't she," Nabiki stated. "How'd she learn it?"

"Your bosses had me pump the _Book_ up to full so that it'd go nuts."

"And whose bright idea was that?" the girl with a bowl-cut snapped irritably.

"Your sister's."

"I thought you didn't have a sister," Subaru said.

"Details, details." Nabiki waved it off.

Erio coughed into a fist. "Anyway... Evil program here?"

The other forwards blinked at him, and looked at the _Book of Darkness_... well, at where it was supposed to be, anyway.

Subaru summed it up succinctly: "Shit."

In retrospect, Nabiki would wonder why she was surprised.

It had been using the Yamasen-ken, after all, and it had been documented as having absorbed Ranma's abilities.

One of the noted abilities of this Librarian was the ability to appear as from thin air _without the use of magic_. Famous, even. There was no reason for it not to have been built into the simulation, despite the original being essentially ki-blind.

All the programmers knew was that whatever it was the Librarian did, it left no magical trace. Since the simulation _was_ magic, that meant it simply disappeared.

"That's new," Ranma observed.

"What?" Nanoha looked over to the monitoring screens.

"The disappearing thing," he clarified. "Reinforce can't do it; she can't sense ki or chakra. Kasumi probably could, but Kasumi wasn't in control just then."

Nanoha blinked and checked the parameters of the simulation. Sure enough, there it was- "non-magical translocation." She scratched her head. "Well. This ought to be interesting."

A rustling sound was the only clue. Caro threw herself sideways as a two-fingered strike blazed through the space she had occupied. "Friedliche!" she cried, "Erio!"

The boy spun on his heels, catching sight of the rogue Device. Even with Sonic Move, by the time he could bring Strada to bear, she was gone.

Subaru made a careful survey of the area. "Nabiki, you recognized what she was doing, right?" she asked. "Is there a way to get around it?"

The brunette nodded, holding the Anchor Gun low, fingers laying alongside the trigger guard. "She was using Yamasen-ken before, and this is probably Umisen-ken, although there's a lot more things that could be do this. You people don't recognize anything but magic and what you can see, so it's not hard to something past you..." A scuffing sound. "Move, kid!" the gunner barked at Caro. "Get airborne!"

The pink-haired girl spent a costly moment figuring out what was going on. She ended up airborne, but hardly in a controlled manner, spinning head over heels into a building.

Nabiki took a few shots of her own. Despite her complaints, Ranma's training was not _all_ pain. That was just what stood out. Subaru had assured her that "Teana's" combat style was nothing like the gun-fu she had made. She was proud of it- her first, as far as she knew, truly unique hand-to-hand style. It was a little unbalanced, since there was only one gun, but Subaru assured her that would change... eventually. She tended to be a little obscure about things like that.

"The two schools are supposed to counter each other," she said tersely. "If you're good enough, you can mix and match- but this part takes up a lot of your attention, unless you're _very_ good at it. She shouldn't be..." The brunette abruptly snapped off a pair of shots, and for just a moment, the simulation was visible, a surprised look on its face, and then it was gone again.

"Damn," she muttered. "Hoped that'd keep her out of it."

"How'd you-" Erio blurted.

She grinned at the purple-haired cyborg. "Subaru knows. She should, anyway."

The teen cocked her head to one side. "She doesn't have a magical presence... You're not looking for her, are you? You're looking for the magic the simulation uses to make her tells!"

"Bingo." The brunette took to the air herself.

"\_Magical Prison_\."

A barrier formed directly in Nabiki's flight path, and she slammed a shoulder in to it. It flexed and tossed her back. "What?"

"Magical Prison," Subaru identified it. "I should have thought of that. Thanks, Erio."

"Um, I didn't cast it... Did you, Caro?" he asked his partner as he pulled her out of the rubble. The girl just shook her head.

"_Diabolic Emission_."

The brunette squawked in surprise as a massive black field of energy began to expand.

"_Wide Area Protection_!" the pinkette snapped. "Get out of there!" she called to the other forwards, taking to Friedliche's back and following her own advice.

"Don't remember that one," Ranma observed.

"It's a wide-area spatial attack," the tactics instructor informed him. "It only takes a moment to cast, but you and Arf were pretty much in her face the whole time, and she didn't do the disappearing thing."

"Don't you listen?" the Librarian asked irritably, "She couldn't because she _can't_. Her senses aren't set up right to do it."

"I summon the light of destruction down upon my prisoners," the simulation began reciting, the voice coming across their speakers as well. "Stars, gather, and become the light that pierces everything."

"Should she be doing that?" he asked.

"Doing what?" The tiny brunette blinked at him and turned her attention to the spell.

"Tear through everything in a blaze of light..." the voice continued.

"Not good, not good," the chibi muttered. "Shari's going to be so _mad_ at me!"

"What is it?" the Librarian asked, curious.

"_Starlight Breaker_," the program and the TSAB officer said at the same time.

After being steamrolled by the massive wave of pink power, Nabiki sat up groggily. "Ouch," she grunted, and coughed up a bit of dust. "Hey, Subaru, kids, where are you?"

"We're fine," Subaru said. Nabiki could have sworn she [i]heard[/i] the smirk in her tone. "But then, _we_ know not to get hit by that."

"Thanks for the heads-up," the brunette grunted, pulling herself to her feet. "Fair warning. If you wake up on the flagpole tomorrow morning, it's your own damn fault." She glared at the empty space where the construct had cast its spell. "I think I'm going to cheat a bit," she announced. "Anyone see where it went?"

Silence. "Of course not," she sighed. "You were all too busy laughing at my being blown up." She glared at the mages. "They get a pass, this time, because we just met- but you, Subaru, you have _no_ excuse."

The younger mages blinked, but the purple-haired cyborg winced.

Nabiki closed her eyes. "Well, let's see what I can find." She abruptly opened them. "Hey, Ranma," she asked aloud, "how careful do I have to be with this thing?"

"Well, Nanoha's already sobbing in the fence corner by the stairs," the fylgja told her. "Something about Shari being mad. Dunno why; she always seemed nice to me." A pause. "Sure, whatever. Go for it. How much worse can you make it?"

Nabiki buried her head in her hands. "You did _not_ just say that."

"Wanna bet?" he asked cheekily. "After all, _I'm_ not going to have to put it back together."

The brunette sighed. "Whatever." She glared at her audience. "If Lina asks, you are _not_ seeing this." With that, she started stomping up an invisible staircase that was, of course, not there when the others went to follow.

"What's Lina got to... Huh. You know, I never considered trying those?" the Librarian asked consideringly. "Don't know if it's gonna work."

"Well, we'll find out, then," Nabiki said tightly. She reached a plateau in her climb, and carefully took an angle so that the wash of the spell would go out onto the water. Taking a deep breath, she began, "Well, here goes.

"Darkness beyond twilight,/ Crimson beyond blood that flows;/ Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows..."

"You might want to put up shields," Ranma advised them. "Or at least get clear."

"You don't mean that the other way 'round?" Erio asked nervously, looking at the massive orange and black ball of energy forming.

"No, not really," the older man deadpanned.

"Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed/ By the power you and I possess: _Dragon Slave_!"

* * *

"Well, that worked differently from how it normally does," Ranma noted cheerfully.

"My poor training ground," Nanoha sobbed, gazing tearfully at the remains of the platform.

"It was going to happen anyway," Ranma comfortingly told her, patting her on the head.

"It's not fair!" the chibi moaned, locking herself around his leg. "I didn't get to do it first!"

The clone blinked and paused. "You know, coming from you, that somehow doesn't surprise me. Shouldn't you go look at your trainees?"

The tiny officer sat on his foot, tears soaking his pants leg.

"Well, at least she isn't..." He sighed as one of the girl's hands wandered its way up the inside of his thigh. "Never mind." He firmly redirected the hand, and the girl, to a safer location in front of the status screen. "No feeling me up," he said firmly. "Remember all those talks about having sex with kids and how I _don't_?"

"Fine," Nanoha groused, drying her tears. "I'm telling Fate you're being a meanie."

"Then I'll just make sure she knows what's been going on..."

"No need, no need," the tiny brunette backtracked quickly. "You guys okay out there?" she asked, keying up the voice screen.

"I'm fine," Nabiki said. "They won't let me get blasted next time, I think," she observed.

"Well, that's one way to do it," Ranma agreed. "Dunno if I'd do it that way, though. Lotta property damage... and I have a feeling it's coming out of your paycheck."

"Ranma," his student snorted exasperatedly, "_I'm_ not responsible one here."

"The hell you aren't!" her boss snapped. "You just blew up my training ground!"

"Like you weren't going to anyway," Erio's muffled voice groaned over the comm screen.

"I heard that," the chibi said harshly. "I didn't, though."

"You were the one who called up a program much more difficult than your trainees were supposed to handle," Nabiki said cheerfully, taking most of the wind out of Nanoha's sails.

"Damn," she muttered. "Shari, Kasumi _and_ Fate! When am I going to get a break?"

"And on that note, the meeting should be about over, which means I should be heading back," the fylgja said. "Have fun training," he chuckled as the magic left him, leaving a faintly glowing cloud of energy.

"No telling Fate!" Nanoha tackled the cloud, further dispersing it. "Not fair!" she pouted. "I want Fate to punish me for things I do, not for things people tell her I do..."

"Um, Nanoha," Caro said, "you _did_ do it."

"Well, yeah, but _she_ didn't know that. It's not like I programmed that simulation..."

"Wait," Subaru said, "that's a canned one?"

"I did just say that, didn't I?" the tactics officer asked, scratching her head.

"Ha! Gotta get Ginga in there!" the cyborg crowed. "That'll show OW!" The image showed her clutching the back of her head. "What was that for?!"  
"No tempting fate," Nabiki admonished them. "They're not all that nice when you catch their attention that way."

"Tempting Fate's fun!" Nanoha chirped. "We have the best-"

"Don't need to know," Caro cut in.

"But-"

"No. Now, do you want to start helping us put this back together, or do you want me to tell Shari?"

"Not that type of fate, anyway," Nabiki added.

"... Fine," the tiny brunette pouted.

* * *

Kasumi looked calmly out her office window at what was left of the training ground. "How did this happen, Nanoha?"

"There was a training accident," the shorter brunette said simply.

Her commander gave her a Look. "A training accident that left a very large hole in the middle of a highly advanced and _very_ expensive military training ground, despite the wards against just such a thing?" she asked sweetly. "Just what sort of training were you conducting?"

Her subordinate muttered into her collar.

"Excuse me?" the Lieutenant Colonel asked. "Speak up."

"..." Nanoha tried.

Kasumi sighed and turned her Look on Ranma. "Well?"

":_The_ Book of Darkness,:" he said immediately. ":_Just to see if they could beat it. Nabiki did; it's just that she used the Dragon Slave to do it_.:"

"Traitor!" his co-defendant snapped.

The ferret, dangling bonelessly from Reinforce's hand, shrugged and shot a weaselly grin at the sulking brunette. ":_Told ya she could_."

"Not necessary," Reinforce said, shaking him gently.

":_Fine, fine_,:" he said quickly. ":_Hey, be careful, will you? I'm delicate_!:"

"You are nothing if not durable," Kasumi sniffed. "You will heal."

":_Not from a broken neck_,:" the Librarian muttered.

"I wasn't shaking you that hard," the Blessed Wind said irritably.

"And you did this... why?" the ranking officer asked.

"To see if they could," Nanoha said, shrugging.

"To see if they..."

"They would've been fine if the programmers didn't give it Ranma's disappearing trick."

Kasumi's brow furrowed. "That ability does not use magic..."

":_So_?:" the red and black ferret asked. ":_The programmers don't know how I do it, they just know that I do and that a lot of the abilities the Defense Program ended up using were mine. They don't let little things like not being able to use that type of energy get in the way_.:"

Reinforce sighed noisily. "Let me guess. The Mistress's... sister... could not track it down and it was staying at range."

The Captain nodded. "More or less. After it cast Starlight Breaker, she blasted everything."

"And why did you not end the simulation?" the Sergeant Major inquired calmly.

":_My fault_,:" Ranma admitted. ":_I was too busy setting up shields to tell Nanoha what the Dragon Slave normally does. Of course, breaking her concentration might have been a worse idea_."

Kasumi nodded. She had seen what a fizzled Dragon Slave did. It was very similar to what had happened, in fact, just smaller.

She turned back to the window. "Nanoha, I want you to write a full incident report; the forwards will submit accounts as annexes to the main document, which you yourself will author. That will be submitted to our advocate for review. He will likely suggest non-judicial punishment... docking your pay and any of the Forwards that he finds to have been involved, most likely. Nabiki's attack rank will also have to be reviewed."

She looked back over her shoulder. "Let Nabiki know that you and she, at the very least, are at fault here, and quite possibly Ranma as well. I am unsure what, exactly, may be done to the Librarian, but _something_ will be." Her gaze returned to the training ground. "Dismissed."

Nanoha snapped to attention and did an about face, making for the door. After they paraded out of the room- well, Nanoha paraded; Ranma was unceremoniously dropped outside Kasumi's office, the silver-haired Device closing the door behind her. The ferret-shaped man sighed. ":_Well, that could have gone better_.:"

"It could have gone worse, too," Nanoha pointed out. "She could have told Fate."

Reinforce opened the door again. "By the way, the Commander says that she will be telling your partner while you walk home. Good night." The door closed again.

As the diminutive brunette started slamming her head against the wall, Ranma observed, ":_You know, you_ really _need to break that habit_.:"

* * *

The auburn-haired woman carefully reviewed the packet official documents, fresh from the postal service three days past. Apparently, Ranma had gotten himself into a bit of a mess these last ten years. Some of it was old news- the _Book of Darkness_ and the Network Severance incidents had both been fairly well broadcast, as has his appointment to the Infinite Library.

Her baby boy, all of ten years old, and already the head of the main archive of the Time-Space Administration Bureau! She was so incredibly lucky, having a son like him!

Some of it was new... like Ranma's involvement with a new military unit. He was not, of course, part of it; such a position would not be appropriate for a Scrya, but he had some sort of command authority over them. And of course, since he and those girls were involved, there were explosions.

They really ought to have settled down and had a few children. That would have solved almost everything right there; she would have grandbabies to play with, and those... three? Seven? However many there were... would stop blowing up things and act like proper women, maybe even be invited to join an academic fellowship.

She tucked the paperwork carefully back into its envelope, and that into a document protector. Yes, perhaps it was time to see just what he had made of himself.

* * *

"So why am I doing this?" the young man in question asked flatly.

"It's part of your sentence," Nanoha pointed out.

"Oh, come on," he snapped. "It's not like you need any of my help to upgrade your Devices. I mean, your three have done it who knows how many times, and Nabiki designed hers herself. She really ought to be doing this, since the notes she left don't make any kind of sense."

The tiny brunette shrugged. "At least your paycheck isn't being garnished."

"There is that," he agreed. "I don't have to deal with what Fate did to you, either."

The Ace shifted uncomfortably. Of course, almost _any_ action she took involving muscle groups from the waist down were uncomfortable now, and had been for the last week or so. "She really didn't need to take it that far," Nanoha complained quietly.

"I dunno," the Librarian mused. "I think it's kind of appropriate. I mean, you try to get in _my_ pants all the time. Suits that she'd fix it so that even if you did, it wouldn't do you any good." He paused. "Where did she get that thing, anyway?"

"No idea," the instructor sighed. "If I did, you can bet I'd be getting her one."

Ranma winced. "That doesn't sound comfortable."

"It isn't. You get used to it after a while, though. Well, except for the chafing. There's not much you can do about that, though."

Ranma nodded. He had more than his fair share of experience in that vein. On both sides of the aisle, naturally.

"And... there. One updated Cross Mirage, as per user specs." He nodded in satisfaction, and then froze as a chill wave swept its way up his spine. "Run," he whispered to the brunette. "Save yourself while you still can."

"Huh?" His companion shot him an odd look.

He pasted a patently false smile on his face and said, "I have to go meet Mother."

* * *

"I had thought that Ranma would be here." Kasumi frowned prettily at the disruption of events.

Stars-One shrugged. "He had something else to do. Maybe now, things will get back on schedule..."

Fate's fingers twitched, and Nanoha winced. "Um, not schedule, exactly, but how things normally go. I mean, it's not like this part ever changes-"

"What's that buzzing?" Reinforce asked.

The tiny brunette made a point of ignoring the Device. "Something about meeting his mother. I wanted to go too, but he said to run and was being mean."

The taller brunette clapped her hands. "Oh, that means Auntie Nodoka is here. I do hope he brings her by for a visit. It has been years since we had the chance to speak."

"Auntie Nodoka?" Fate mouthed.

Her roomie shrugged. "He sounded pretty worried about it."

"Oh, Auntie Nodoka is a most wonderful woman," Kasumi beamed at them, "and so well-educated, but then, she is an archaeologist like Ranma. She makes the most wonderful tea, too. Now if only she would relax about having grandchildren; Ranma is only nineteen, after all. There is no reason for him to settle down this early."

"Grandchildren?" Nanoha asked.

The sergeant shrugged. "She is a well-regarded academic, and thinks that Ranma should just settle down where he is, since he has an excellent position. Of course, part of that is having a family."

"I thought he couldn't?" Fate asked.

"Oh, he cannot," Kasumi agreed.

"When did this happen?" Nanoha asked, looking at her lover quizzically.

"He told me about it, not long after the _Book of Darkness_ incident," Fate said. "We were talking about my kids, and he said that anchors couldn't have any."

"What about Vivio?" Nanoha asked, heartily confused.

"Vivio is not your blood-daughter, and there are special cases," Kasumi pointed out. "He is correct, however; unless it is Fated, Anchors cannot have children."

"There's that word again," the childlike brunette pouted. "Stupid destiny, taking my Fate's name..."

"It was the other way around, Nanoha," Fate corrected gently.

"There it is again. It's louder this time, too. What is _with_ that buzzing?" Reinforce demanded. "Where's it coming from?"

"I do not hear anything," Fate told her. Nanoha squeaked.

"There it is! It just got real loud and then-"

"There. Is. No. Buzzing," the blonde enunciated carefully.

Reinforce took a good look at her face and sighed. "Ah. I see."

"Ah, Ranma," Kasumi exclaimed, thankfully diverting the conversation, "there you are. We had thought that you should be here when we give the forwards their Devices."

"How did your visit go?" Fate asked.

"She never changes." The Librarian shook his head. "What's that buzzing-?"

Three hands swiftly covered his mouth.

"What's this about being Fated to have children?" the blonde asked, completely ignoring Ranma's question.

"Oh, that. Sometimes, someone has to have a kid as a Loop progresses. If they do, it happens. If they don't, they don't. There're exceptions, of course- pseudo-Loops and all that, but they don't happen much any more."

The blonde blinked. "Pseudo-Loops?"

"Have you ever...?" Nanoha asked curiously.

"No," the pigtailed Anchor said quietly. "Not during a Loop. There's been a pseudo-Loop or two, but then the Loop ends, and 'you' go, but 'you' and your kids stay. It's not really worth it. I think that's Skuld's doing, though. She wants to have kids, once this is over. I figure out that by then, I should more or less have the whole parenting thing figured out."

"You have had enough time," Kasumi said grouchily. The frown turned into a leer. "And enough practice, I should think."

Ranma pinked faintly. "Mabye." He paused. "Nanoha, why are you-"

Two pale, soft hands gently gripped his face and twisted it to behold its red-eyed owner. "Ranma. Stop."

He blinked at her in confusion. "Why? It could be-"

"I know _exactly_ what's going on," she said firmly. "Unless you want me to let her have you, I would suggest that you stay out of it."

"Uh... okay?"

"Good boy." She patted him lightly on the cheek before she released him. "Now, why don't you tell us about your mother's visit."

"Uh..." He shot one last look at the squirming brunette and decided that discretion was the better part of valor and that shutting up was the better part of not getting electrocuted. "Not much to say, really. She came, toured the Library, babbled on and on about my needing to settle down, and tried to extort the _fylgja_ spell. I kicked her out after that."

"You kicked out your own mother?!" Nanoha exclaimed in surprise.

"I don't like emotional blackmail." He shot a black look at the collected women. "The only reason she was _only_ kicked out was she's my mom. Anyone else I would have played with some."

Kasumi winced, obviously knowing exactly what he was meant by "played with."

"Mistress...?" Reinforce asked quietly as the two native Anchors tried to interrogate their elder.

"It is nothing," Kasumi reassured her. "I have seen what happens when Ranma thinks someone has gone too far. It is... not pretty. With any luck, it will be quite a while before something happens- a few hundred thousand Loops would be nice." She shuddered. "Ranma is not the most powerful Anchor. The others all have as much sheer power, if not more, than he does. The reason everyone steps carefully around him is that he has the most _skills_. Shinji is better with his AT field, Naruto with his chakra, and Ichigo with his reisatsu. Harry and Lina are more powerful magic-users. Ranma, though, is the only one that is very good at _all_ of them."

She forced a smile. "It is because our Loop is so short, you see- only a year and a half. He has done almost everything that he could in that time frame, and so he just trains."

Reinforce blinked at her Mistress and then looked to the dual Anchors. "If he is that skilled, why did the change-of-shape give him such problems? It's not all that complicated."

"He is used to not having full control over his shape," Kasumi shrugged. "As he sees it, he can defend himself adequately in all of them, and can trigger the change if it is necessary. Learning what there is in this Loop is more important." After a brief pause, she added, "Especially since you insist on calling super-science magic."

"It _is_ magic," the platinum blonde sighed.

"Not really, no," Kasumi disagreed, starting down the path of an old, old conversation.

She was interrupted by a number of viewscreens opening around the room. "Commander," Griffith said from the one directly in front of her, completely ignoring the fact that Ranma- her superior officer- would have been visible over her shoulder, "there has been an incident."

The viewscreen caught the attention of the others. "What happened, Griffith?" Fate asked, leaning over Kasumi's shoulder. "The forwards didn't get in trouble, did they?" she pressed worriedly.

"No, nothing like that," he assured her. "Gadgets have been observed near a Linear Rail track. The cargo manifest and an energy signature suggest that there is a Relic on-board."

"I see. Give the order to scramble. I will advise Admiral Harlaown and proceed to the command room."


	6. Chapter 6: Day at the Expo

"So, how did the mission go?" the _fylgja_ asked.

His subordinate- the relationship was more complex, but that was about the size of it- looked up and sighed. "You know," Kasumi said, "after all this time, you would think that they would have learned to do things without blowing everything up. Do you know how _expensive_ Linear Rail trains are?"

The clone looked at her like she was an idiot.

She blinked. "Oh. I suppose that you would," the brunette mumbled, and her head dropped back to her hands.

"So... What happened?" he asked, sitting on the edge of her desk.

"Leave the Mistress alone," the battalion superintendent advised as she walked in. "She has had a very bad day." She set a bottle of Andong soju and a shot glass on the desk.

The construct blinked. "Huh?"

The Device sighed and said, "This way. I'll fill you in, and the Mistress can start on making herself feel better." She paused and added, "Until tomorrow morning, anyway."

Ranma nodded. He knew _exactly_ what soju could do to you.

* * *

The silver-haired girl clicked off the viewscreen. "And that is what happened."

Ranma scratched his head. "That was a little excessive," he admitted.

An eyebrow went up.

"There was no reason to use Bakusai Tenketsu on the train rail," he continued. "Inside the train, okay, maybe I can see that... but not on the rail. Too many things that could go wrong, there."

The other eyebrow went up.

"Does she even know how they _charge_ those things? I mean, it could be electricity, or highly concentrated magic, or some sort of radiation. Even touching it could do bad things to you, depending on what it is. And that's not even addressing what happened to the train."

The Blessed Wind exhaled sharply. "The train is a problem, yes," she agreed acerbically, her eyebrows slowly lowering.

"Nabiki really should have known better. She's better with numbers than I am, and I know _exactly_ what would happen if you blew up an active train track on a mountainside."

The eyebrows shot back up to a fully-raised position.

"Why did Nanoha and Fate agree to that, anyway?"

"Ranma," Reinforce said flatly, "shut up."

"Huh?"

"I said, 'shut up,'" she repeated, adding a touch of acid to her tone. "What I want to know is _how_ she could do that and why she did not try it before. Like, say, when she was trying to get through the train."

Ranma shrugged. "It's Bakusai Tenketsu. You'd have to ask her why she didn't use it before then, though."

"I _know_ it's called 'Bakusai Tenketsu,'" the Device snapped. "You said that already. _How did she do it_?"

"You find the breaking point and inject your ki into it," he said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "You should know that. You have a good chunk of my techniques, after all."

"And how do you _find_ the breaking point?" she snarled, hair bristling.

"You look for it with your ki senses, of course," he said. "Why're you-"

Ranma's question was met with a fist to the face, and he reflexively redirected its owner into the sky with a finger. He took a minute to process that. "Reinforce, why did you just try to punch me?" He peered up at the hole in the ceiling, eventually showing the sky through several floors. "Uh... whoops. Guess I should get going." And with that, the clone dispersed.

* * *

"So, Fate," another clone addressed the named teen, "what the hell happened out there? I mean, you all go off, I go back to the Library, and when I get there, the clones are telling me that you knocked a train off of a mountain?"

"Not exactly," the blonde corrected him nervously. "Nabiki blew up the train tracks- I'm not really sure how- and then the train went off of them."

He blinked. "... And why did she blow up the train tracks?" he finally asked.

"The Gadgets destroyed the breaking system," she admitted, playing with the ends of her hair, as if examining them for split ends. She shot a quick look at him over the tips. "She said it was something you taught her."

"She give it a name?" he asked.

"She called it 'Bakusai Tenketsu,'" the agent replied.

"Then I did," he agreed. "It's an old technique from our world... learned that one on one of the first Loops. It's pretty basic. Training for it sucks, though."

"Oh?" the woman asked.

"You're all tied up, except for one hand," Ranma elaborated, "hung from a tree or a pole or something, and your trainer swings boulders into you until you get it. The technique's useful, but the real benefit is the body hardening you get."

Fate's jaw swung open and then clicked closed. "And you did this on purpose?"

"Yep," he agreed. "Like I said, it can be useful, especially when you have to get rid of a lot of rock or dead wood or something quick. Breaks it down real fast. Doesn't work on people, either, so it's pretty safe... well, except for the rock shards."

"Rock shards," she echoed.

"Yeah. Sends gravel and shrapnel all over. Does a number on your clothes."

That caught the blonde's attention. "Destroys... your clothes?"

"Yeah. Some of it even gets through the iron cloth."

She began blushing faintly. "I think I would like to see you use it. So I can say that I saw it done by a master."

Ranma blinked. "You have. Nabiki's had that down for... You know, I don't really think there's a word for how long?"

"I didn't see it," Fate told him.

"But you were-"

"I had to deal with the Type-Two gadgets," the Ace pointed out. "I was occupied."

He scratched the base of his skull and examined the ceiling. "Well, if you can find a shadow clone, they can show you. I can't," he admitted sheepishly. "I'm only good with magic and physical stuff. Almost everything here runs off of magic, so there's a lot more of us than the shadow clones."

She cocked her head to the side. "And they cannot use magic yet, correct?"

"Not yet. We're still working on it."

She blushed more deeply and smiled. "I would like that."

* * *

Nanoha scratched her head. "So, if you could do all of that other stuff, why did you blow up the _track_?"

Nabiki shrugged. "I didn't think we were going all that fast. I mean, it doesn't rock or anything like normal trains do, and there weren't windows..."

Her boss blinked. "Wait. Weren't you _outside_ the train?"

"Nope," the "younger" girl chirped. "You know how some types of energy can be both a particle and a wave?"

"That's light," her partner pointed out.

"Well, ki's nothing like that."

The tiny brunette twitched. "Then why did you point it out?"

The taller one shrugged again. "Because I could. Ki's pure energy, and if you're good enough, you can use it to vibrate a chain of molecules in such a way so as to transfer the energy to a remote breaking point and still have act upon it in the desired manner." She blinked at the stunned expressions on the group's faces, especially little Caro and Erio. "... You didn't understand any of that, did you." It was not a question.

The group shook their heads.

The taller brunette ran a hand through her hair. "You know, I would have thought that Ranma would have explained this stuff to you, at least," she said to the smaller one.

The Anchor pouted. "He keeps saying stuff about my family school and how I should learn that and how our magic isn't really magic and I just kind of tune him out."

Nabiki sighed. "And you wonder why Fate's closer to getting in his pants than you are."

"She is not!" Nanoha objected.

The "younger" woman looked at her flatly. "You look like you're nine," she pointed out. "He's got enough problems with it when the lolis won't take no for an answer. He's not going to do anything by choice." A pause. "At least this isn't coming out of _my_ paycheck." She smirked.

"Reinforce will not be too happy about that," Caro agreed. "What do you think she will do to him?" The silver-top had been... high-strung since their return, and had immediately sought out the Librarian. Well, one of him, anyway; that odd spell of his had just _so_ much potential! If she could learn it herself, and then teach it to Erio and Lutecia... A drop of drool formed at the corner of her mouth.

The token male coughed, recognizing the signs, and made an attempt to redirect the conversation. "Anyway. How does this 'ki' stuff work?" he asked the more experienced Looper.

"You'd be better off asking Ranma," the gunner replied. "Of course, that'll get you in to training, and then..." She cackled, and Subaru flinched.

"You _don't_ want _him_ to train you," the cyborg disagreed. "He's completely insane! You don't want to die, do you?"

That caught the pinkette's attention. "He'd hurt Erio?"

"As part of training? Sure." Nabiki shrugged. "Outside of it... How often do you go and pick fights?" She looked at the boy.

"Um, not too often, any more," he said after a moment. "Fate doesn't like it."

"And she might as well be your mom," the mini-brunette agreed. "My Fate has opinions on that sort of thing. A spar is one thing, but a brawl is something else."

"So how did she end up with you?" Nabiki said snarkily.

"Well, her mom's an evil bitch and-" The captain was abruptly cut off by as a falling woman slammed into her back.

"Ow..." the sergeant groaned, sitting up. "Wow. That landing didn't hurt as much as I thought it would..." Noticing the group staring at her, she blinked. "What are all of you doing here?"

"Debriefing," Erio told her. "Well, trying to, anyway. You're sitting on Nanoha."

The Device squawked and jumped up and away from her landing zone. "Oh, I'm sorry," she babbled, "I didn't know, I mean I didn't _mean_ to, but-"

Nabiki peered intently at her superior, still lying face-down on the floor. "Hey, Erio," she interrupted, "can I borrow Strada?"

The clone blinked. "What for?"

"I don't want to waste the time going to find a stick."

* * *

Ranma blinked at the person on the other end of the viewscreen. "You want me to do _what_?"

The poor organizer sighed and repeated his request.

"Yes!" the Librarian exclaimed, breaking down into mad cackling.

The event planner sighed and shook his head. "Academics," he grunted as he hung up to a flash of light, "all of 'em are crazy. Doesn't matter what they study, they're all batshit crazy."

A few minutes later, after sobering up, the ferret that had just moments ago been a young man resumed his proper shape and grinned viciously. He had a few phone calls to make.

* * *

The commander of Section Six peered down at the hardcopy deployment orders on her desk. She reviewed them for the- Was it the third or fourth time?

"At least I can do some shopping," she sighed.

"Excuse me, Colonel?" her sergeant asked. "Did you say something?"

"I was looking at our new orders," the brunette explained.

"Is there something wrong with them?" The Device opened a new terminal window and brought up an electronic copy. "These seem to be fairly sta- oh my." He crimson eyes met her mistress's dark ones. "It seems we have some shopping to do."

Kasumi simply sighed and called for her captains.

* * *

"Oh, we'll be fine," Nanoha said, waving off the sheaf of paper Reinforce offered. "We've done this a million times."

Fate, having already accepted hers, let her eyebrows arch as she flipped through the packet. "Nanoha..."

"I think I know just the dress, too," the smaller girl continued.

"Nanoha," the much taller blonde repeated.

"You guard mad arcanist conventions all the time?" her superior asked, confused. "I had been under the impression that this only occurs every twenty years, so that the mobs and insurance agencies have time to calm down. It would have been nice to know about it beforehand. You never know what comes out of these things." She frowned mildly at the stunted girl.

"Of course we do! It happens every- wait. Did you just say mad arcanist convention?" Nanoha asked.

"That is what I said, is it not?" the colonel answered, looking to the other two for confirmation.

"Not exactly as usual," Fate commented.

Reinforce shrugged. "I would not know."

"But... crazy wizards... Lost Logia... auction," the chibi spluttered.

"Oh, that's why," Reinforce said, relief heavy in her voice. "Ranma will have a panel."

"Ran... ma... Ranma? _Ranma_!" The brunette's voice rose to a parade-ground bellow and hovered there. "_I'm going to kill that bastard! What the hell does he think he's doing, messing with the timeline like this! I'm gonna cut his balls off_!"

"If you cut them off, you'll never get any," her partner pointed out absently.

"Oh... right." The girl deflated. "I'm gonna sit down now." She wobbled over to the couch and flopped down on it face up.

"He is not running it, in any case," Kasumi advised them. "He is simply an honored guest."

Fate flipped back to the front of the packet, where the effective dates and location were listed. "It seems to be at the correct time," she observed, "and it is in the same place. So they talk about magical theory and do not auction off authorized Lost Logia this time. It is close enough."

Nanoha swung an arm over her eyes. "We're all gonna die. Some magical bomb's going to go off and drag the world into the void between dimensions."

"We'll be fine," Fate said, sitting near her head on the majority of the couch that the tiny girl's sprawl had not taken up. "And if anything happens, well, maybe we will be able to see one of those other Loops that Ranma and Nabiki keep telling us about."

* * *

"Ranma should be here soon," Fate observed, absently checking the clock on the nightstand. "Is Kasumi done with her makeup yet?"

"Not quite," Reinforce told her, popping her head out of their private bathroom. Rank did have its perks- in this case, a sitting room and a private bath attached to the commander's quarters. While the suite was not large by any stretch of the imagination- at least, not according to the floor plans- it was more than of the rest of them received.

"Relax, Fate," the tiny brunette said, laying a hand on her partner's arm. "We look fine. Caro's watching the door, so he probably won't sneak up on us. Signum and Vita both know what to look for. Nothing's going to spoil this."

"I hope not," the blonde frowned. "I spent a fortune on this." She indicated the ensemble with a wave. "And the shoes are comfortable. How many pairs of _comfortable_ heels are there out there? These are the only ones I've ever seen, and I don't want to have to worry about losing them."

Nanoha nodded; comfortable women's dress shoes were almost impossible to find. It was one of the reasons she tended to wear flats. Well, normally; this time around, she wore sneakers. She could get away with it, after all. "Ah," she sighed, "the price we pay for fashion."

The developed woman smiled lightly. "Speaking of that, why are you not dressed yet?"

The Ace bristled. "I'm not wearing that... that _thing_ any longer than I have to."

"It isn't that bad," Fate comforted her.

"Yes, it _is_!" the other girl pouted.

"Well... okay, it is," the clone agreed after a moment. "You were the one who decided to wait until the last minute to get a dress, though."

"It's not fair," the girl sulked.

"If you had gone earlier, you would have been able to have a dress made," the agent pointed out. "You having to wear it is entirely your fault. You knew what was out there; you make Vivio wear them often enough."

"If it weren't for Ranma, I still wouldn't _have_ to," the trainer snapped.

"You were the one who insulted a goddess," Fate reasoned. "Even in your own myths and legends, they have never really forgiven that."

"Nanoha," Reinforce called, "it's your turn. Come in."

The girl desperately turned desperate, limpid eyes on her partner, who made a point of averting hers.

"Nanoha," the Sergeant said, sticking her head out of the bathroom again, "don't make me carry you in here."

"Fine," the girl sulked, and went to her Doom.

* * *

"Relax, Nanoha, it is really not that bad," Kasumi tried.

"Yes, it is," the chibi sulked.

"No, really, I have seen _much_ worse."

"Like?" The smaller brunette looked hopefully to the larger one.

"Well, um..." Kasumi began.

There was a knock on the door, and Caro opened it just far enough to look in... making a point of not looking at the Captain. "Mister Scrya is here," she advised them.

"Let him know that we will be out in just a moment," Kasumi responded, relief heavy in her voice. "Well, last chance, ladies. Is there anything we are missing?"

"A decent dress," Nanoha grumbled. "Almost a meter of height, a bust... I can keep going, you know."

"Anything important?" She looked around, eyes connecting with the three taller women. "Well, then, I do believe it is time."

* * *

Half an hour later, he fidgeted again with the cuffs of what was almost a c_hángshān and paused in his pacing. "Damn this thing for the dress code... I will ____never__ understand why women take this long," he growled to Caro._

_ The pink-haired girl simply smiled and replied, "If we did not, you would take us for granted."_

_ He paused and gave her a startled look. "Seriously?"_

_ The summoner shrugged and grinned impishly. "Didn't think so," he grunted._

_ "Ah, here they are," she pointed out. "I should be going; I need to get down to the transport bay..." She looked to Fate, and was waved off with a smile and a nod._

"Well, now," Ranma said, catching an evaluating eyeful of the girls' dresses and completely ignoring Caro's departure. Fate wore a Little Black Dress, of course. She almost always wore black.

Reinforce and Kasumi were a matched pair- the Device wore an off-the-shoulder number in a shade of crimson that matched her eyes, and Kasumi wore one that slipped off the opposite shoulder in a dark green. At their waists were sashes of the other's color.

Nanoha, though... The sight of the sulking girl was absolutely _hilarious_. Back on Earth, among a select portion of the population, it may have been called a Communion dress... except for the ruffles and the pink it was pink. And not just any pink; this one was that peculiar bright pink one finds on little girls' dresses, some women's lingerie, Las Vegas, and Key West.

It also had two or three layers of skirt- the outer two were an odd, poofy sort of mesh. That was still an improvement over what it had been; the outer layers had originally been embroidered with unicorns.

Through sheer, horrifically heroic effort, he was able to avoid falling to the floor and laughing. The rather stern glares offered by the collective helped, however, once he began twitching.

"Well," he choked, "we shouldn't keep the limo waiting."

* * *

As they walked out of Kasumi's quarters, Fate almost immediately latched on to his left arm. Kasumi, on his right, bent a little to whisper into his ear, "Are you not going to say something?" She offered a sly grin.

"Uh, what? Did you say something? I was... distracted," Ranma replied, looking away from Fate and blushing. She laughed and pressed closer; Kasumi and Reinforce shot each other a victorious grin.

Nanoha pouted and glared at the pair of women. "That really ought to be me, you know."

"Is that so?" the brunette asked. "In which spot?"

"In the middle," she immediately replied.

"Well, if you really want people to think you're their child..." Reinforce trailed off as the Ace twitched. "It would be good cover, though."

"I meant me- the real me!" Nanoha flared. "Stupid goddess, making me stay a kid-"

"Oh my," Kasumi mumbled, and carefully drew Reinforce as far away as she could without leaving the group. Oh my, oh my," she repeated as Nanoha continued ranting. "I think we need to get into the open..."

"Why..." Reinforce began, only to cut off as Nanoha abruptly blew up in a choking cloud of pinkish smoke.

"Oh dear," the head of Section Six sighed. "Nanoha?" she called, "Are you in there?"

A series of coughs answered her, broken what might have been the phrase "I'm all right." The smoke slowly dispersed, and well before Nanoha herself was visible, a scrawled phrase was visible on the floor.

"I'm... the... only one who can... talk about my... little sister... like that?" Ranma made out. "Well, kid, you've done it now," he sighed, shaking his head.

"What does it mean?" Fate asked, peering over his shoulder, making sure there was contact between them. As far as she could tell, it did not do anything, but it made _her_ feel better.

"Just what I said it did," he answered irritably. "Weren't you listening?"

"No, I mean yes... I mean, yes, I was listening; what did Nanoha do?"

"She ticked off Urd," he grunted. "That's two of the Norns. Gotta wonder who she's going to tick off next. Hope for the life of me it's not Belldandy. That'd be... bad."

"Nanoha!" Kasumi exclaimed as the girl became visible, "Is that you?"

"Yes," the girl growled. She blinked and coughed the last of the smoke out. "What?" she asked, looking around.

"Captain, you're..." Reinforce said.

"I'm what?" she asked, confused.

"You're... you're Super Deformed," the construct finished.

"Eh?" The tiny girl looked up at them and blinked, and Fate produced a mirror.

"You should be fine," Kasumi consoled her. "Urd's potions never last very long. Maybe a few weeks?" She looked to Ranma for confirmation.

"A few WEEKS?"

"Nah," he denied, waving a hand, "I've seen this one before. She should be fine by the time we get to the convention hall... and if she's not, well, she'll fit in a bit more."

Fate blinked. "She created the Starlight Breaker," she drawled. "I would have thought she would fit in anyway."

"She _modified_ the Starlight Breaker," he corrected her.

"No, I'm pretty sure-" Fate argued, only to be cut off.

"Whatever. Well, now she's an experiment, or one gone wrong, or something like that. Explains the dress, at least."

"Hey! It's not that bad!"

"It is, Nanoha," Fate sighed. "Is the limo still waiting?" she asked.

"Oh, right," he said, standing and offering her his arm. He looked back at the chibi. "You might want to fly," he advised her. "It'll take forever for you to get anywhere."

* * *

Nanoha reverted around half way to the conference, much to the surprise of the driver, who had assumed her to be a Device of some sort. The process did not, however, include the smoke and fireworks typical of so many of Urd's potions.

It _did_ go in fits and starts, though.

Much, much later- and out of Nanoha's hearing- they eventually decided it was mostly an illusion. When someone worked directly with one of the computers that controlled reality, that line tended to blur.

Fate was a little surprised when she entered the conference hall, though.

"It's the same," she murmured.

"The same as what?" the man on her arm gently prodded.

"The same as the normal place," she said, bemused.

"... If you're supposed to be part of the security team for this, shouldn't you have already known that?" Ranma suggested.

"Well, yes, but this address is wrong," Fate defended herself. "This building, and the forest, should not be here."

An eyebrow shot up. "You're going to a _mad wizards' convention_, and you're surprised by something weird?"

"Well, when you put it like that..." she admitted.

"Thought so." The Librarian nodded. "You need to shake things up more. Getting in a rut... Well, let's just say it's bad. I'm not saying to change _everything_, or to do it every time, but every once in a while, you know? Kind of like a relationship, except when you get bored in a relationship, it don't normally mean your universe going boom."

The blonde blinked. "Normally?"

He scratched at the back of his head. "Not normally, though. Sometimes, you just gotta get a point across when someone won't take no for an answer."

"I suppose you mean Hild?" a dark-skinned platinum blonde walking near them said. "She still hasn't forgiven you for that, you know. Or maybe some of the stupider Senshi."

"Or Sakura," he pointed out. "Nice to see you too, Urd. When did you get here?"

"Just arrived," the oddly dressed- '_Must be a barrier jacket_,' Fate decided- woman admitted. She looked speculatively at the mage, who instinctively pulled her escort's arm tight to her chest. "Don't worry, I'm not going to try to take him. He's Skuld's, anyway; as long as I'm discreet about it and all of us agree, she doesn't normally mind my borrowing him once in a while. Not as long as I ask, anyway."

Fate blinked. "Eh?"

"Skuld? My little sister, the Goddess of the Future, currently damn near going crazy trying to put Yggdrasil back together?" Urd shot a reproachful look at the pigtailed Anchor. "Seriously, I thought you'd have told her by now."

"I did," he said dryly. "Doesn't mean they believed me. You ought to see the other one." He waved at the brunette, who seemed to be intently inspecting a booth that sold some sort of candy. "So, why now?"

"Come on," the woman snorted. "Since when do I work if I can let someone else do it for me?"

"Figures," the man grumbled.

"Um, Ranma," Fate began nervously, burying his arm even deeper in her cleavage, "who is this?" She shot an irritated look at the [s]third[/s] [s]fourth[/s] fifth wheel.

"Eh...? Oh, right. Fate, this is Urd Odinsdottir, the Norn of the Past. She's the one who SD'd Nanoha, by the way. Urd, this is Fate Testarossa Harlaown, one of the Anchors here... I think." He shot a questioning look at the tanned woman.

"One of, yes," Urd confirmed. "Their situation is a little unusual. I should get back to my booth; I'll talk to you after the conference."

Ranma blinked. "_You_ have a booth?"

"Of course." She winked at him and leaned forward a bit. "You want to see my goods?" Fate's grip on Ranma audibly tightened.

"No, I think I'm fine," he squeaked.

"Ah, well, maybe later." She turned and waved. "Have fun, kiddies."

"That... that..." Fate spluttered.

"Goddess?" Ranma offered.

"That _tramp_!" She glared at him. "You are _mine_, Ranma Scrya, at least until the end of this. After that, we are going to have a little talk."

He gulped noisily, and burst of smoke appeared where Nanoha had been. "Oh, my, look at Nanoha," he babbled, grateful for the distraction, "she's gone and blown herself up again. We need to check on her!"

Fate allowed herself to be diverted after a final "We _will_ talk, Librarian," and led him over to inspect her partner's lightly charred body. "Really, Nanoha," she sighed, collecting a tube of the candy from the booth. "You'd think she'd know about mixing different types of transformation spells by now. 'Age alteration candy?' What kind of trick is this supposed to be?" She carefully set the tube back in its place.

* * *

Cleaning up Nanoha was a fairly simple task; there was a spell for it, after all. There was a booth, too, but they decided not to spend the sixty-odd credits on it; con things were always over-priced, after all. On the flip side, the seeming girl learned not to mix experimental and/or theoretical magics.

Well, hopefully, anyway. She was a little out of it at the moment.

Ranma was, for her sake, praying that was the case, at least. She rather unashamedly groping Fate and sucking on her neck; the blonde was carrying her piggyback.

The blonde twitched as a hand got too close to going inside her clothing and redirected it. Again. "Ranma," she proposed, "why don't we find somewhere to drop her off for a bit. The staff room should be safe, right?"

He looked at her flatly. "Where are we, again?"

"Ah. Yes." She swung Nanoha down. "Let me try something..." She frowned and concentrated. A brief zapping sound, the smell of lightly-cooked flesh and a screech filled the air. This being where and what it was, it drew absolutely no attention whatsoever.

"What was that for?" the now-obviously-conscious brunette snapped.

"We needed to wake you back up," Fate told her. "This was the best way."

"So you decided to shock me?" Nanoha glared at her hands until they glowed a light pink and rubbed the back of her neck.

"It worked, didn't it? We can't have you asleep on the job, now, can we." The clone looked up and away, glancing at the crowd that was still ignoring them. "Why don't we keep on with our look around? Over there- the 'Time in a Bottle' booth looks interesting. Might be something to let the boss know about."

* * *

"Aw," Subaru pouted, looking at the building, "I wanted to go look. It sounded fun."

"Down, Subaru," her brunette partner told her. "We're working now."

"But I wanted-" the cyborg objected.

"No, Subaru," Nabiki repeated. "You don't want to be in there, anyway. You'd probably end up on a table getting prepped for a public exam."

"Well, that's not always a bad place to be," Subaru argued. "Why, one time, Tea and I-"

"Not when they're doing a biopsy on you," the brunette informed. "Place like this, they wouldn't even make sure you were unconscious."

A small hand tugged on the hem of her barrier jacket. She turned to face Caro, the summoner's wide eyes glistening. "They wouldn't really do that, would they?" the younger girl asked.

The gunner sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know, you're the one who's been through one of these before. They're mad scientists... wizards. Mages. Whatever. You've got a better idea of what's going on than I do."

":_We haven't been through this one before, though_,:" Erio told her. Seeing as how he and Freid were flying around, performing high cover, she had _no_ idea how he knew about the conversation. High cover was technically her job, but they needed her to keep Subaru out of the building, and Ranma's training aside, the girl was much, much better at ground combat. ":_This is the first time we've seen this. It's normally a Lost Logia auction_,:" the boy continued.

"Seriously?" the young woman asked. "Don't you people ever change things?"

"No, not really," Caro replied. "It's still going to be a few months before Vivio comes; changes have to happen after that."

"I've heard that name a few times," Nabiki observed. "Who is she?"

"Fate and Nanoha's daughter," Subaru replied. "Good kid, even if she does get befriended."

"Everyone gets befriended," the pink-haired girl said irritably.

"Fate and Nanoha have a kid? What, together?" the older Looper broke in.

"Kinda, Nabiki. I don't remember _you_ getting befriended, Caro," Subaru objected.

"Otto and Lu, when they destroy-" the girl began.

"They're bad guys just then," Subaru told her, dismissing the objection. "They don't count, and they never did anything to you, personally; just Section Six, Zafira, Shamal, Freid, Erio..." the cyborg ticked off on her fingers, "well, everyone _but_ you, pretty much."

"Section Six gets destroyed?" Nabiki blinked. "Wait. One thing at a time. About this kid-"

And then the roof of the building lifted off explosively, rising some three meters, rotating through and then back to three hundred sixty degrees, and settled lightly back in place. A red line flashed its way around where the separation was.

Nabiki hung her head. "You know what? Never mind. I don't care anymore. We need to get back to work. Caro, check out the roof, would you?"

* * *

"Well, that was odd," the dust-covered form that was the Archivist of the Infinity Library observed. "Interesting use of construction, telekinesis, and null-inertia spells, though."

The two girls with him blinked and carefully dusted themselves off.

The man looked up at the roof and opened a telescopic screen. "Can't even see the seams. Good job," he congratulated the Device's creator. "Don't know why you would, though, unless you can expand it to include the full building- oh, you can? Cool! You could make some real cash off this in the construction market! If you want, I can put you in touch with-"

Fate, having mostly cleaned herself off, slapped Ranma across the back of his head, raising a small cloud of dust.

"Ow! Hey, what was that for? I wasn't- _ow_!" He cut off again as Nanoha kicked him in the shins. "Dammit, I didn't _do_ anything!" he protested. The girls glared at him and flounced off in the direction of the ladies' room.

* * *

"Men," Fate snarled.

"Men and their toys," Nanoha corrected her. "You've got to admit, it was pretty neat, aside from the dust." She pulled open the bathroom door, and her partner stalked inside.

"And then, he didn't even check to make sure-"

"He knows we can take care of ourselves." The brunette undid her side-tied ponytail and shook the debris out of her hair. She glanced at one of the full-length mirrors and considered the pink monstrosity that was her dress. "What's bothering you? You've been in a bad mood since I found that age-pill booth. I don't normally have to calm you down."

"We met one of Ranma's friends," the blonde sighed, calming slightly. She turned on the hot water, and the sink began to fill. "She just wouldn't leave him alone! And then she started flirting with him! It was awful!"

"Well, he didn't go with her, did he?" the childlike woman asked.

"Obviously not, but they were going back and forth right in front of me! The nerve!"

Nanoha rubbed her hand through her hair again. "I wonder... Raging Heart, can you help me out with this?" she asked.

"Of course, my master," the Device replied, and a wave of energy flashed over her, leaving her considerably cleaner. The dress was, somehow, left more pink and shimmery in the wake of whatever it was that the Intelligent Device had done, however.

She frowned at the new color. "Raging Heart," she remonstrated lightly.

"It looks good on you, master," it objected.

The girl cleared her throat, and the dress returned to its eye-jarring self. "Thank you," she told it. "You know, Fate, despite how close you are to him, you don't have a monopoly on Ranma. Did you get her name?"

"I... I don't think so. That was a good idea," the blonde noted, and fished Bardiche from her purse.

"Urd," Bardiche said in its digital-sounding voice.

"Excuse me?" Fate looked at the triangle-shaped crystal in her hand.

"Sir, her name was Urd," her Intelligent Device repeated, and copied whatever it was that Raging Heart had done. Her little black dress was not quite so little after it was done, though; the skirt and bodice had been considerably altered. It was floor-length now, and had a slit on the left side; the bodice was a complicated, front-laced corset that left a good chunk of her shoulders and upper chest bare. It was incredibly impractical, but she had to admit, it did look good.

"Thank you, Bardiche," she said approvingly, and it flashed an acknowledgment.

"Urd? Isn't that the name of the goddess that shape-changed me?" the brunette asked, tying her hair back up.

"That's what he called her," the older-seeming woman said and paused. "I wonder what she's doing here?"

* * *

A platinum-haired potion vendor sneezed and rubbed at her nose. "That was odd." She briefly returned her attention to the distillation apparatus in front of her before snapping her fingers. "Oh, da-" A cloud formed near the ceiling and rumbled. "I didn't say it, I meant to say darn!" She glared at the cloud; satisfied, it dispersed. "I forgot to tell him about Skuld." She briefly considered going and warning him, but that would mean either splitting herself or abandoning her booth; neither was a particularly good idea at the moment. "Ah, well, I'm sure he'll figure it out."

* * *

Satisfied with her hair, Nanoha looked back to her partner. "Well, you ready to go knock his socks off?"

"Might as well," the blonde sniffed. "It'll make things easier later."

"Later? What's happening later?" the Ace asked curiously.

"Never mind, Nanoha," Fate told her, patting her on the head on her way out of the restroom.

* * *

Ranma was standing more or less where they left him, talking to a man in voluminous blue robes and a straw hat that hid his face. "I'm just saying that getting involved with primal chaos is a bad idea," he told the mage.

"Nah, it's all about the power," the man argued.

"Not if it's gonna eat you," Ranma pointed out.

"Well, you're gonna get eat... uh." The mage stopped and stared.

"Huh? That makes no... Ew! You're drooling!" He glared at the poor conversationalist. "What're you staring at?" He sidled around sideways until whatever the man was staring at came into his field of view. "What's so... oh." He cut off abruptly as Fate came into view, and stomped on the other man's foot. "Don't stare, it's rude," he admonished, in no way turning aside his eyes.

"Ow! Hey, that's not fair!" the blue-robed man objected. "How come you get to stare?"

"I came with her." Ranma moved away from him and toward his- dare he say it?- date. "Hey, Fate," he greeted, "Feeling better?"

"Not really, no," she demurred. "I'm sure it'll pass. Let's go look around some more."

* * *

This being what it was, they would have run across something someone found objectionable at some point.

In Ranma's case, it had been a booth billing itself as "Jusenkyo Ltd." There were just too many ways for something like that to go wrong. It had; the phrase "booth-bunny," as applied to that particular stall, now had a more literal meaning.

There were also quite a few more than the booth's design team had likely intended, but there was a reason you should consider something other than an unstable tunnel of cursed water as the central feature.

Kasumi and Reinforce had found a booth manned by a small black cat, claiming to sell bottles of time. They themselves had nothing against the booth, not recognizing the feline as anyone they knew, but when they eventually found Urd's, _she_ had quite a bit to say on the subject. As a result, the cat's booth was replaced by a smoking hole in the ground.

So was Urd's, but that was beside the point. Hers had an admonition against cursing etched on the ground next to it, though.

For Fate and Nanoha, it had been running across that man he used to have to throw out of the Library all the time because he refused to acknowledge that he did not have access to the restricted sections.

He had kept sneaking in after Ranma had banned him from the facility in its entirety, but a tazer spell, keyed to both the man and the women that had occasionally come with him, had fixed that right up.

* * *

It had begun strangely- Nanoha had spotted the purple-haired man and two women, one with hair to match his and another with a mousy brown mop- arguing with the "Cyborgs Unlimited" representative.

"Fate, is that...?" Grabbing her companions' hands and pulling them into the shadows, she pointed out the man.

"Jail? What's he doing here?" the blonde exclaimed.

"Huh? Did someone develop a living prison or something?" their escort asked.

"Probably, but that's his name," Fate said absently. "What's he up to?"

"Jail?" the pigtailed young man asked. "Huh. Weird name."

"Like you've got room to talk, Wild Horse," Nanoha snarked.

"Hey, most names have meanings," the named individual defended himself.

"His name is Jail Scaglietti; people call him 'the Doctor,'" Fate continued, completely ignoring the side conversation.

Ranma snapped his fingers. "Hey, I recognize that name. He's supposed to be one of the speakers." He paused a moment. "Didn't know that's who he was, though. Good to know."

"He's a _speaker_?" Nanoha asked, aghast. "He's an interdimensional criminal!"

"Like most folks here don't have a rap sheet," Ranma snorted.

"He's the one that keeps hurting everyone," Fate filled him in.

"Zat so," Ranma murmured. "I've been meaning to have a talk with the guy for a while. It'll be easier now that I know it's him."

"You have met him before?" the taller woman asked.

"Yeah, he keeps trying to sneak into the Library," Ranma absently replied. "Think he's still got some stuff checked out, too; can't really blame him, though, since it zaps him if he gets within fifty meters of the place."

Nanoha frowned. "I thought everyone could visit the Library."

"Not the restricted sections," the Archivist corrected her. "He kept trying, so the security spells look for him and his."

"What about teleportation or summon spells?" Fate asked, curious.

"_I'm_ the only one who can teleport around the Library," he replied. "And do you really think I'm stupid enough to let people _summon_ in the Library? We'd never get the place clean!"

Nanoha wisely wondered, "Huh?"

He gave her a Look, and she shuddered; no male should have had that particular ability. "Have you seen some of the stuff people summon? I mean, I'm pretty lucky that Godzilla shows up every time I try to summon something. It makes cleaning up other people's messes so much easier, and it's pretty much the only reason I do any more."

* * *

The Archivist's assistant- well, the one that wasn't himself- sneezed. "Dammit, Ranma," Arf grumbled, "why'd you have to leave me here? I haven't gone anywhere with Fate in ages..."

The redheaded familiar scratched her nose, and abruptly, a siren went off. She immediately pulled up a Library status screen, and took a brief look at what the problem was. "Damn summoners," she growled, stepping lightly toward the reported location of the disturbance. "You know," she commented familiarly to a nearby clone, "you'd think that just once, they'd read the damn signs."

"Naw," the _fylgja_ scoffed. "Can't have that. 'Sides, we wouldn't be able to make 'em clean up their own messes."

Arriving at the spot, they were confronted by a two-story Green Jello Salad monster.

Arf's mouth hung open for a full two minutes as the massed _fylgjaur_ began their vicious assault. "Why do I still bother?" she sighed, turning from the carnage, and began to look for the creature's summoner.

* * *

"Anyway," Ranma continued, "what's so important about him?"

"He's the one-"

":_Trouble, Captains_,:" Nabiki broke in. ":_There's a swarm of Gadgets and summoned bugs out here. Stars Two, Lightning Two, Shamal, and Zafira are moving to support; Zafira is moving with Stars Two. What's the plan?_:"

"Well, at least that's normal," Fate muttered

":_Keep them away from the building_,:" Fate replied. ":_We'll let Colonel Yagami know, and get ready to clean up anything inside._:"

"Hey, where's he going?" the smaller girl asked.

":_You catch that, Kasumi, Reinforce?_" the Archivist asked.

":_We did_,:" the Device answered. ":_I'll be setting up a one-way barrier outside the building; hopefully, it'll stop anything_-:"

"He's getting away!" the brunette exclaimed. "_Divine Buster!_"

* * *

"God_dammit_, Nanoha," the Librarian barked, batting a stray grenade-type spell back at its caster, "this is why we don't take you anywhere nice!"

"How was I supposed to- _Divine Shooter!_- know he had some kind of funky anti-magic Device?" the girl yelled back.

"I dunno, do some damn research? The Gadgets he makes only use anti-magic fields, after all!" the Archivist shouted, lobbing a handful of _Schwalbe Fligen_-type bullets at the entrenched scientists. "Ain't you the one who keeps goin' off on preserving the timeline?"

* * *

Elsewhere in dimensional space, a green-haired woman sneezed into her tea, drenching herself.

* * *

Fate leveled Bardiche over the remains of a counter. "_Arc Saber_," her Device intoned; the spell boomeranged out, intercepting an incoming binding.

"Now is _not_ the time, you two," Fate remonstrated. ":_Erio, Caro, Signum, how are things going out there? We could use some backup_...:"

":_The Gadgets seem to have turned on each other; Shamal and Lanster say it's got something to do with bugs_,:" her lieutenant replied. ":_Still, it is too early to leave the field; we do not know what these 'bugs' plan_.:"

":_It's like Lu's summons caused the Gadgets to attack each other_,:" the tiny summoner chimed in.

Fate took shelter in the shadow of a convenient okonomiyaki booth as the counter disintegrated under enemy fire. What was left of it, anyway; it had been one of the first things demolished, courtesy of Scaglietti's riposte.

The owner, a young brunette, paid her no heed, returning fire with some sort of giant spatula-shaped Storage Device.

Across the way, Ranma was going hand-to-hand with what looked to be some sort of monkey with a ladle in the ruins of a tea shop. Nanoha, just a little further back, stood behind an overturned cafe table.

She paused to admire the other Anchor's form, only reluctantly returning to battle as offensive magics threatened to reduce her cover to none. Again.

":_Who's Lu?_:" Ranma asked curiously, taking the dipper and breaking it over the monkey's head, dazing it for a moment; he took advantage of its state by punting it to the rear of Jail's last known position.

":_Lutecia Alpine_,:" Caro informed him, ":_one of my friends and a bug summoner._:"

":_Alpine?_:" Ranma paused, only reflexively dodging the incoming fire that came with being an exposed target. He eventually took the hint, crouching behind a smoldering stove-table. ":_Megane's daughter?_:"

"You know Megane?" Nanoha blurted in surprise.

":_Huh_,:" he continued, rolling into a crouch in the open and rising to his feet. "_Divine Buster!_" he cast, Subaru style. ":_Guess that means Zest is here, too_,:" he finished, ducking back into cover.

"You know _Zest_?" Nanoha sent a swarm of Variable Barrets around the edge of her table-shield. "Who _don't_ you know?" she demanded, almost absently guiding her rounds against the incoming attacks.

"In what sense?" the Ranma replied, firing a quick three-orb burst downrange; in the distance, cries of "Rabid monkey!" and "It's all over the place!" were heard.

"Damn you, Ranma," the girl swore, "am I the only one-"

"Not now," Fate reminded them sternly. "We've got to wrap this up, and fast. I don't think that the fix that Device put on the roof will hold for long. And no, Nanoha, we don't have the space or insurance for a Starlight Breaker."

The brunette pouted.

"Can you tie them up somehow?" the blonde importuned her escort.

"Well, Glepnir might do the trick, but it wouldn't keep 'em from attacking..."

"Just do it already!" the clone snapped.

"Fine. Don't blame me if you get shot," he groused, drawing a series of figures on the ground. He examined them carefully and added several more. Pausing again, he considered the glowing shapes.

"Can't you go any faster?" Nanoha whined; having been denied the use of one of her favorite spells, she saw no reason to drag this out further.

"You wanna get stuck to the ceiling?" he replied, rubbing out one line and drawing another in what was, at least as far as Fate was concerned, exactly the same spot. The new one looked slightly thinner, though. "'Cos that's exactly what'll happen if you don't _shut up_. Damn thing's hard enough when you _don't_ have to list friendly locations."

"If it's that hard, maybe I can-" Nanoha cooed.

"They're starting to narrow down our location," Fate observed, cutting her partner off. "We will have to move soon, if we don't want to get blasted."

"Don't you dare!" the Librarian snapped, slapping one hand against the floor. He blinked and looked down. "Oops," he muttered, staring at the smudged lines where his hand had landed.

"Oops?" Nanoha asked, taking to the air as her table broke. "That can't be- _ack!_"

Fate was able to catch sight of an embarrassed-looking Ranma crouching over a brightly lit diagram just before being bound shibari-style and pinned to the floor face-down.

The brunette with the spatula had not been nearly so lucky; she had been standing, and the ribbons bound her over the edge of her current cover, a small table. It effectively folded her in half, ass in the air and squirming as she tried to get free.

Nanoha was, fittingly enough, hauled further into the air, back to the ceiling. Her position at least gave her a good sniper's perch to use, and she let loose a massive mix of Divine Shooters and Busters on her unlucky foes.

Ranma rested his head in his hands, ignoring the pink beams o' doom that rained down around him. "This is why you don't distract someone who's casting a spell," he sighed. He eyed Fate and considered her current position. "Stay put this time, will ya?" he asked, scrawling out two new sets of figures, one curving, one angular. The ground around him pulsed softly white. Further out, a mist formed, flashing a sickly green and black; wraithlike forms began to take shape. "*I call upon the dead of this place,*" he intoned, "*Arise, and strike down mine enemies!*"

There were screams.

* * *

In fact, they were audible over the mess outside. Several hundred people screaming tends to create quite a bit of noise, after all.

"What's going on in there?" Nabiki, floating over the battlefield, wondered. ":_Anyone got any idea?_:"

":_Testarossa had asked about backup,_:" Signum told her from wherever she was. Nabiki had a hard enough time keeping eyes on the other junior forwards, what with the forest. She had been ordered not to burn it down, though, so there was little she could do about that.

Nabiki paused. ":They _asked for backup? And it didn't occur to you that whatever they were dealing with was bigger than what was out here?_:"

":_Did you not hear them?_:" Shamal asked. ":_It was pretty much an open call_...:"

":_Robot-bug war? Hello? Kinda busy?_:" Nabiki reminded them, shooting down another Type-One for emphasis.

":_You must simply learn to listen at the same time, then_,:" Signum replied in her matter-of-fact way, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. ":_I had not thought I would have anything to benefit your training; it seems I was wrong. I will see that a suitable exercise is added to your training rota. Vita?_:"

":_You got a point_,:" the little redhead conceded. ":_I'll talk to Nano- to Captain Takamichi; we should be able to come up with something._:"

":_Don't forget Mister Scrya_,:" the brunette's traitorous partner injected with an audible smirk, shattering the armor on a Type-Three. ":_When it comes to making up new ways to train, he might be even better than the Captain._:"

":_Screw you, Nakajima_,:" the gunner snarled over a private link. ":_Screw you_ so _hard_.:"

":_Whenever you're ready, Na-bi-__ki_,:" the cyborg cheerfully replied in the same fashion.

":_Is that so?_:" Signum replied interestedly over the common link. ":_Since when? There is nothing in his official biography_...:" She trailed off.

After a moment of relative silence, Shamal, on the roof, pointed out, ":_There is almost nothing in his official biography- just that he was the one who put down the_ Book of Darkness, _is the Chief Librarian of the Infinite Library, and that he has an odd selection of unique spells and abilities, including being able to be in multiple places at once without the use of time-space warping spells. That is all there is. We learned more from Mistr- oh, from the Colonel right after we met him than is in his biography_.:"

":_True_,:" the Sword Knight acknowledged. She paused, and then continued, ":_Did he not train the Nakajima sisters a one point? Perhaps he would be willing to continue their studies- and Section Six at the same time?_:"

Subaru froze mid-roundhouse, twisting her face-first into the dirt. ":_Owwie_,:" she complained.

Nabiki smirked vengefully and cracked off a Variable Barrett that took out the last non-possessed Gadget; the ones controlled by bugs froze and fell lifelessly as the insects lifted out and began streaming towards Reinforce's barrier. ":_I'm sure we could convince him._:" The swarm made a satisfying series of sustained popping sounds as it tried to get through the shield and failed miserably. Reinforce _did_ have an ice affinity, after all.  
":_Should we look for Lu- the summoner now, or go help the Captains?_:" Caro asked.

":_Split up_,:" Reinforce directed, stepping into the conversation for the first time. ":_Lightning, stay out here and ward the perimeter; Stars, with me. We're going inside_.:"

":_Roger_,:" the squads sang out.

* * *

Being strapped to the ceiling, Nanoha noted, came with some definite advantages. She was more than skilled enough to keep her danmaku beam-spam from coming down at more vertical angles; with a bullet-type spell, that was simple enough. She had established that level of control not long after the Jewel Seed incident had happened the first time through. Beams were somewhat more difficult; you needed to either white out the area with attacks or weave a cloaking spell around the vertical bits to keep them from tracing the beam back to you. On top of that, the beams needed to go to the "point of origin" at nearly ninety degrees before twisting toward whatever target you were aiming at to keep them from thinking there _was_ such a spell active- but that was another thing entirely.

It also kept her out of that greenish-black fog; if the screaming was anything to go by, that was a Good Thing.

":_Stars-One, this is Long Arch Two_,:" the Blessed Wind's voice suddenly called out, ":_say status_.:"

":_Long Arch Two, Stars-One_,:" she replied calmly, ":_currently strapped to the ductwork about fifty meters in from the east side of the roof. Currently immobilized due to a bind, but not directly threatened at this time_.:"

After a second, Reinforce asked, ":_Say again, Stars-One? I'm not sure I understood your message_.:"

":_I'm strapped to the damn ceiling some fifty meters in from the east side of the roof, and I can't see Kasumi_,:" Nanoha snapped. ":_Now get in here, and mind whatever the heck it was that Ranma did to the floor_.:"

":_What's this about the floor?_:" Nabiki asked.

":_There's some weird fog on the floor_,:" the Captain relayed. ":_That's where all the screams are coming from_.:"

":_Huh?_:" Subaru wondered. ":_What's so important about the fog?_:"  
":_Well, it's black and green. You don't see that too often_,:" Nanoha pointed out.

":_Creepy fog, gotcha_,:" Vita said. ":_We'll be in in a minute, and then we can get all of you out of there_.:"

":_You know_,:" Ranma's mental voice drifted up from the floor below, ":_I'm kinda surprised that none of you asked me_.:"

":_Would you_ tell _us?_:"

":_Not now, no_,:" he admitted. ":_It'll be interesting to see how they handle it. Think of it as advanced training._:"

":_Gods help us all_,:" Nabiki and Subaru groaned simultaneously. Well, Subaru actually started babbling ":_Oh god we're gonna die help we're gonna die save me_...:" in an unending loop, but it _meant_ the same thing.

":_Oh, come on_,:" Vita said irritably, ":_it can't be that bad_.:"

Silence.

":_Please tell me she did not just say that_,:" Ranma sighed.

":_Wow, even I've learned not to do that_,:" Nanoha wondered.

":_Well, she's got to learn sometime_,:" Nabiki pointed out. ":_Nothing quite like jumping feet-first into the mess that somehow always surrounds you_.:"

":_As long as she doesn't try to climb in bed with me. That's gotten newly creepy all over again this Loop_,:" the Archivist grunted into the link.

":_Hey! I've only done that... well, I guess I've done that a lot_,:" the pint-sized Captain admitted. ":_Still, she gonna be okay?_:"

":_Depends on how long it takes her to figure out whatever's in the mist wants to eat her._:"

":_Wait, you summoned something?_:" Nabiki cut in.

":_Not exactly_...:" the young man hedged.

":_No weaseling out of this one, Ranma. Did you or did you not open a gate through which something from another time, place, level of existence or whatever can pass through?_:"

":_That's not summoning,_:" he objected, ":_that's opening a damn gate!_:"

":_For you, that's summoning. Now did you or not?_:"

":... _Fine. Yes. Yes, I did. Happy?_:"

":_No, I'm not happy! Our health care doesn't cover Goddamn kaiju attacks!_:"

":_What, seriously?_:"

":_Why would it need to?_:" Nanoha asked.

":_Because whenever Lizard Boy here tries to summon something, he ends up with fucking Godzilla. He can be trying to summon a person from ten feet off- he ends up with Godzilla_,:" the gunslinger complained.

":_I've gotten around the person thing, thank you very much_,:" Ranma huffed.

":_Well, you apparently haven't gotten around the creepy-monster-in-the-mist thing, because Cross Mirage's telling me that there's an all-personnel for a giant magically active green dinosaur that's proceeding this way, jackass_.:"

":_Uh... whoops?_:"

* * *

Riot Force Six- read Sergeant Major Yagami Reinforce- decided to enter by way of the third story windows and found out immediately that it had been a bad idea. The first two people through, Vita and Subaru, had to dodge a number of high-speed pink projectiles, leaving Nabiki and Reinforce to catch them. The Device simply batted hers down into the fog.

Nabiki, however, caught hers with her face.

":_The_ fuck _was that?_:" she squawked angrily.

":_Uh, whoops?_:" Her Captain chuckled uncertainly.

":_Wow. Looks like you really_ do _need remedial training_,:" Ranma murmured. ":_Might as well get Subaru in on it, too; I'd been meaning to try to get her speed up_.:"

The cyborg twitched.

":_How in the name of all that is do you get out if these things?_:" Fate demanded.

Nabiki blinked. ":_What things?_:" she asked cluelessly.

":_Ranma created a spell a while back_,:" Nanoha elaborated since Fate seemed to be stuck cursing. ":_It's a lot like Struggle Bind, but it's a lot stronger and I don't know if it cancels transformations_.:"

":_It doesn't_,:" the Librarian advised them. ":_It just keeps them from changing anything about themselves. It's a seal, really. I don't even know if they'd age_.:"

":_Oh, really?_:" Nanoha asked interestedly.

":_Not that Nanoha'd need it_,:" the young man grunted. Nanoha replied with a Divine Buster directly on top of his position.

":_Hey!_:" Fate barked. ":_Watch where you're aiming!_:"

":_Sorry, Fate,_:" the brunette apologized contritely. ":_But you heard him, didn't you?_:"

":_Enemies first_,:" the blonde ordered her. ":_Punishment later. You know the rules_.:"

":_Fine_,:" Nanoha sulked, redirecting the beam's focus.

Something down in the mist screeched.

"Huh," Vita muttered. "Wonder what that was. Didn't sound human," she opined.

"Don't know," Reinforce said. "Sounded a little like one of Suzuka's cats."

Nabiki froze midair, comparing the sound. "Cats would be... bad," she murmured. "Not cats, please not cats..." she chanted, diving toward the open area.

"What's so special about cats?" the cyborg wondered.

"Explain later!" her partner shouted back over her shoulder. "Panic now!"

* * *

"Well," Nabiki said, hovering four meters up, "this was better than I hoped for. At least the meows aren't too loud."

"Huh?" Her teacher shot her an odd look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing," she hurriedly replied. "Just something Sergeant Reinforce said. Don't worry about it."

"Why were you panicking about cats?" Subaru asked, setting down gently and taking a good look at Fate and the as-yet-unnamed-brunette-cameo-because-she's-insignificant. "Kinky." She leered at Nabiki. "Think I can convince Master to teach me that spell?"

"Don't you dare," the brunette ordered them. "And ixnay on the atscay."

"Seriously, Nabiki?" the Librarian sighed. "Cats? It's been hundreds, thousands of Loops since I had trouble with cats. Why are you so twitchy about them now?"

"Ranma has a problem with cats?" Fate, on the floor, wormed her way into a sitting position, much to Subaru's personal delight.

"Where's the sword, Saotome?" she demanded, floating to the ground.

"Sword?" He blinked.

"Saotome?" Fate asked.

"And the mask! Where is it?" she snapped.

"You're making too big a deal about this, Tendo," Ranma grunted. "Everything's under control."

"I'm not so sure," the brunette disagreed. "Why's whatever's out there meowing?"

"It's _not_," he insisted, and sure enough, the noise stopped. Except for the whimpering and the screams, at any rate; at this point, nothing short of knocking the captives out would prevent that.

"Show me the sword," Nabiki insisted.

"Fine. Whatever," he snapped irritably. A sheathed katana came into being in his hands, and he held it out, scabbard tight in one fist. "Hurry up, though. Gotta do something about the rest of this mess your boss made for us."

Nabiki took the proffered sword gently, and began inspecting the sheathe, before moving on to the hilt and guard.

"Colonel Yagami did this?" Subaru blinked.

"Not her," he sighed, and thumbed at the ceiling. "That one."

A blazing column of pink energy shot down from on high and was abruptly redirected by a diamond-shaped shield. "I heard that," Nanoha shouted down.

The gunner drew the strange sword, inspecting the blade as thoroughly as she had the sheathe.

"Dammit, girl, do your job!" he barked at the forward on the ceiling.

"So, are you going to let me up?" Fate asked.

"Can't," he said contritely. "I'd have to undo the whole spell, and when it comes to having you free or all of them tied up- well, sorry."

"So you like me tied up, then?" the blonde purred, blushing lightly. "I will have to remember that."

"I didn't say that!" the Librarian objected.

"If you're done flirting, maybe you could at least do something about the mist or the kaiju coming this way?" Reinforce suggested.

The blade slid home with a steely ring. "Well, doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that," the brunette sighed. "Now for the mask."

"Not the place," Ranma refused her. "Not the time, either."

"Gotta be done," she insisted.

"Not now," he reiterated. "Crazy wizards? Mad scientists? Kaiju? Your boss, angry, standing behind you and glaring at us? Any of those ring a bell?"

"The last two don't really narrow it down any," she snarked back. "Pretty much sums up every Loop I try to get out of Nerima, after all, and either one of the first two could, too. This one's just got all of them."

"_Private Lanster_." The ambient temperature dropped sharply. "We have a mission to do. I don't know what you were looking at, but you'll have to conduct your... inspection... thing on your own time, which, with your record, _is not likely to happen any time soon_."

"Yes'm," the private said meekly.

"Ranma," the Blessed Wind snapped, redirecting her glare, "how do you get rid of the fog?"

"Huh? Oh, that's easy," he said, and snapped his fingers. The fog disappeared as if it had never been.

The crying, though, stayed.

"Private Lanster, Private Nakajima," the sergeant commanded, "begin casualty assessment. Contact myself or Lieutenant Vita if you have any... issues."

"Yes ma'am!" The two snapped to and popped of salutes before breaking formation and double-timing it into the ruins.

A tiny, floating... thing zipped its way up to them. "_PEECO!_" it began, charging up an electrical spell that grounded itself on Fate. "Pee?" it finished weakly, and dropped to the ground.

"Picojet!" a glasses-wearing brunette a good ten meters away screamed. "Oh, it's on now, bitch!" she declared, pulling a gray cape around her shoulders.

* * *

Subaru made her way over to the far wall, carefully inspecting the fallen as she went. "Unconscious, unconscious, uncon- no, wait. _Now_ she's unconscious." She unconsciously cleaned her heel on the girl's dress. "Ew, that one puked!" She gave the puddle a wide berth. "More unconscious crazies- hey, that one's bleeding! Can't have that; you're probably wanted for something, but I don't remember your face on a bulletin..."

She stooped down and applied a healing spell to the bandanna-wearing boy. "There. That'll take care of that."

Something behind her exploded, and she spun in place. "Hey, what was that?"  
The small-but-rapidly-expanding mushroom cloud seemed to indicate that there was something wrong.

Oddly enough, it was _not_ pink.

"Huh." She scratched her head, debating her courses of action. On one hand, there was something going on back where the main group was. On the other, she had been ordered to secure the area, and Sergeant Reinforce would likely have her ass served to... well, Hayate wasn't here, but _someone_ would have it on a platter. Silver, probably; the Unison Device had an odd sense of the fitting. Back on the first one, _Nanoha_ was there!

Military discipline was tossed to the wind. "I'm coming!" she declared at the top of her lungs, and Mach Caliber cut a path directly through the half-sorted piles of unconscious entities.

* * *

Nabiki, on the far side of the room, also saw the mushroom cloud. Her logic, though, was much simpler- Ranma had probably done something stupid.

She ignored it and kept sorting bodies.

* * *

"Hey!" Fate objected. "First you tie me up, and then you start zapping me? Not fair!"

"Uh..." Ranma trailed off, looking for the right words. "I'm not the one who zapped you."

"Are you sure?" She squirmed around to get a good look at his face, wriggling in what she thought was an enticing manner to do so. "It felt real nice," she crooned, looking up at him through her bangs.

"You know, you could have just floated yourself," Reinforce pointed out, completely ruining the moment. "It doesn't look like you are attached to anything."

The bound blonde glared at the Device. "Well, I am, so leave it. Don't you have a job to do?"

"I am," the Blessed Wind serenely replied. "It is my responsibility to ensure that the privates do theirs. Supervision, I think it is called."

"That's it, all right," Ranma grunted. "Who was that, though?"

"Who was what?" Vita asked.

"The one that just screamed 'it's on bitch-' you know, the one who _did_ zap Fate?"

"Are you _sure_ it wasn't you?" the clone tried. "I don't mind if it was, if it means-"

"No, it was some brunette with glasses and a gray cape. And she's standing over there, looking indignant." He pointed.

"Huh?" Once again, Fate squirmed around to get a view, in hopes of getting at least some attention from the lone male currently in attendance. "Oh. That's Quattro. She's crazy."

"You don't say," Reinforce drawled, watching the woman struggle with the spell binding her. "And here I just thought she was strange."

"No. She hurts Vivio... actually..." She rocked over onto her side, and then onto her back. "That's a lot harder than it looks." She paused, taking a deep breath, and then called out, "Oh, Nanoha, look who's here!"

"What?" the surly brunette shouted back from the ceiling. "Who?"

"It's your favorite playmate!" The Enforcer tossed out a yellow globe of magelight to highlight the indicated "playmate."

"... YOU!" the brunette roared, struggling physically against her restraints. "Lemme at her! I'm gonna kick her ass! First she hurts Vivio, and then she zaps _my_ Fate! No more!"

"Who's Vivio?" the lieutenant quietly asked her fellow Wolkenritter.

"No idea." The Device shrugged.

"Dammit, Ranma, let me down!" the childlike mage snarled.

"Nope. If I let you go, all of the other crazies get let go, too."

"Well, it's not that big of a- hey, what do you mean, other crazies?"

Ten meters away, the woman marked as Quattro, highlighted by a giant yellow corona of faerie fire and a magical flashing signboard over her head, snapped "Dieci! I choose you!"

Another woman, some four meters off, blinked and said, "What."

"You're supposed to appear in a flash of red light!" Quattro declared.

"You _are_ crazy, just a different brand," the Librarian told the Captain on the ceiling. "Sex-crazy is still crazy."

"Is not!" the "younger" Anchor objected.

The woman that was evidently Dieci took all of this in, processed it, and blinked again. "... Why?"

"Because I said so! Now listen to your big sister!" the self-declared big sister commanded.

"I'm a little tied up right now," brunette without glasses pointed out.

"You've got a cannon! Use it!"

"I've been meaning to ask you," Ranma said to Fate, "but other than hurting Vivio, who's Quattro?"

"Works for Scaglietti," Fate informed him. "Crazy. Obsessed with him."

"Think I noticed that second bit," the young man said dryly. "Where did he go, anyway?"

* * *

Another hundred meters away, in a smoldering crater that was still occasionally crackling with pink energy, an unconscious purple-haired man was bound face-down into the chest of a woman with long purple hair.

She raised her free hand to stroke the back of his head. Smiling lightly, she then adjusted him so that he fit a little more comfortably.

* * *

"Don't know," Fate replied. "I lost track of him after Nanoha blew him up." She began rocking from shoulder to shoulder, and then gave up. "Hey, can you flip me over?" she asked. "It's hard, when you're tied like this. It makes me feel bad for turtles."

"I think that's part of the point," the occasional ferret said.

Lightning One blinked. "The tying or making me feel bad for turtles?"

"The tying, of course," he said, waving a hand. "Why would making you feel bad for turtles be a part of it?"

* * *

On a barely-settled and otherwise backwards planet known throughout administrated space for its hot springs, an extremely gifted brunette sneezed.

* * *

"Hey, Reinforce," he said, trying to get the Unison Device's attention, "can you flip Fate over? I'd do it myself, but I'm pretty sure she'd take it wrong."

"You would be flipping her over, and she asked you to do so," the sergeant said flatly. "I am not certain that there is a way to take that incorrectly."

"Oh, I'm sure she'd find a way," he muttered.

"Wuss."

"Fine, whatever." He reached over and carefully toed Fate back on to her stomach. "That better?"

"You were supposed to use your hands," Fate pouted.

The young man looked helplessly at the Device, who simply shook her head in bemusement.

"Hey, what're they doing?" Vita asked, pointing at the other women.

"Looks like that one that doesn't have glasses pulled a cannon from somewhere," Ranma said, squinting.

"A cannon?" They instantly had Fate's full attention. "Vita," she ordered, "go break it."

The Iron Knight shrugged. "Sure, why not. Not like there's not enough property damage here."

Reinforce winced as the smaller knight dashed off.

* * *

Dieci sighed. She really needed to get the Doctor to run a diagnostic- and maybe a personality mod- on her big sister. Still, the Doctor had told them to listen to their big sisters, and since Cinque was not around to curb Quattro's... oddities, orders were orders.

She produced her cannon from... somewhere; the Doctor had called it "extradimensional space," but from everything else she had read, that term meant the void between dimensions, and anything that got lost in there was gone- period dot, end-of-story _gone_. She knew the Doctor was smarter than a lot of people, but surely someone else would have come across it.

The pigtailed man in the target area- fourteen meters away; that was a little close for comfort- sneezed.

Maybe she should try to have Uno run a diagnostic on the Doctor? No, she reminded herself, he was an organic; running a diagnostic on him would mean medical and psychiatric evaluations, and the Doctor simply did not trust anyone else to do that.

She shook her head lightly to clear the thoughts and lined up the shot. At this range, she did not bother with ranging; it would be hard to miss. An Aerosol Shell would be best- unless, of course, a redheaded ball of destruction _broke her gun!_ That she also ended up in a crater was something else; what had happened to her poor cannon was intolerable!

She tearfully collected those pieces she could reach and looked up at the hammer-loli on the rim of the crater. "You... you... you bad person!" she sobbed. "You broke my Enormous Cannon!"

On the edge, Vita's jaw went slack. "Your Enormous Cannon."

"Yes!" The brunette glared at her. "You didn't have to go and hurt him; I was the one who was going to shoot you!"

The lieutenant felt a headache coming on. "Let me get this straight. You would have rather I broke you than your... your- is that what it is, or what you named it? 'Coz if it is, you and me, we need to have a serious talk about style."

"You can't just hurt him, you have to go and make fun of him!" the woman sobbed angrily, clutching the wreckage to her chest. "How would you feel, if I went and broke your hammer?"

The redhead shifted uncomfortably. On one hand, she could understand where the brunette was coming from; if someone broke Graf Eisen, she would be all broken up about it. On the other hand, the breakage in her case would be more... literal, not this emotional crap, since he would have broken from use. "Look, can you stop that? I mean, it's just a giant gun; it's not like you can't fix it..."

"He won't be the same!" Dieci cried. "I'll sic Tre and Cinque on you, you meanie!"

The redhead sighed. "Why me?" she asked rhetorically, and brought the Gigant Crusher straight down on her head.

"Nanoha!" Subaru cried out, bowling her officer over, "I'll save- huh? You're not Nanoha..."

Vita twitched. "I never would have noticed," she muttered acerbically, moving the cyborg's hands away from certain places that she did _not_ have permission to touch. "Now get off me before I decide you need more barrier practice!"

The purple-haired girl hurriedly scrambled back and away. "Better," the Wolkenritter sniffed, picking herself up. "Go get her, she said, pointing at the unconscious woman in the crater, "I'm going to get the crazy one."

"But I wanted to save Nanoha," the private muttered.

"_Excuse me?_" Subaru froze at the look in the midget's eyes. "Get down there!" the redhead bellowed, batting her subordinate into the crater like she was a golf ball. "Kids," she muttered, turning aside on her own mission. "I swear, I'm going to give her to Ranma after this..."

"Now, where did that other one go?"

* * *

The "other one" had barely remembered the existence of her Silver Cape when that- that tiny _construct_ had decided to beat poor Dieci in with a giant hammer.

Still, it was better that Dieci was hurt than her. One less rival for The Doctor's attentions, after all.

"Oy, ferret-boy," the redheaded thing called out, "you see where the other one went?"

"She's still right where she was," the male replied loudly, waving at her position. "It's not like you can break one part of it without breaking the rest. Seriously, though, don't you see her?"

Quattro frantically began running diagnostics on her Silver Cape. It should not be possible, between that and her Silver Curtain; was something wrong with it? She hurried it along even faster as the smaller construct turned to look.

Then it loudly declaimed, "Haah?"

"There is nothing there," the other one, the silver-haired one, pointed out. Maybe she was alright, and he had logicked his way to the conclusion based on how his spell worked? Had she overlooked something?

"You're not looking right," he insisted. "She's right there. Can't you tell?"

The others looked her way again, just to make sure. "You've been in that library too long, bookworm," the construct that had beaten on Dieci concluded.

"Well, you need your eyes checked," he countered.

"I do not see her, either," the silver one commented.

"You would not," the one on the ground lectured, shifting and giving her a good look of the woman's face and hair. It was more than enough for her to identify the Project F prototype. This little trip was turning out to be all kinds of interesting. First the Type Zero, and then the Project F reject- Quattro shook herself; she had to stay on-topic. The failed prototype continued, "Her Silver Cape lets her hide in plain sight, and her Inherent Skill lets her create illusions."

"Doesn't keep you from knowing there's magic there," the male replied. She checked the Silver Cape again; sure enough, it was absorbing even her natural- "Maybe I should say what's not there. Sure, it hides what she gives off, but it lets you see; it's like a hole on a solid background."

Seriously? Was it really _that_ simple?  
"I've got a few ways of looking that you don't, too. That helps," he finished. Was it a trick of the light, or had his eyes just changed color?

"I could just blast everything," the midget on the ceiling, Takamachi Nanoha, proposed.

"Too much collateral," the silver construct- no, not a construct; a Unison Device! It was all she could do to keep herself from taking it with Silver Curtain and walking it into the Doctor's labs; they would go looking, though, and that would not be worth it- replied immediately, shooting down the proposal.

"Or I could just show you she's where I said she was," the male grunted.

Taking a few steps to the side, he reached over to the cooking surface and ripped a chunk off. It was metal! Was he like the Type Zeros, or was he from some parallel project? Tre might be able to do that, but she was fairly certain that she could not... and now he was wadding it up like an unused shirt!

That idea distracted her for a moment, before she shook it off. She was faithful to the Doctor; really, she was... but daydreaming never hurt anyone. Now, he was tossing it in the air. Catching it, he frowned, wadded it up a bit more, and resumed tossed it. Apparently satisfied, he pointed on foot in her direction, and _**THWACK**_.

* * *

"Told you so," Ranma Scrya said smugly as the piece of grill bounced off the forehead of a formerly invisible cyborg, who collapsed. That spell of his, Vita noted, took up the slack. Actually, it looked like something she had seen Mistress Kasumi and Rein do- _bad thoughts_.

"Huh," Vita muttered. "I guess she really was there. You're gonna have to show me how you did that," she told him.

He shrugged. "Like I said, you just need to know how to look."

* * *

Nabiki focused on the woman who, in another place, time, and Loop entirely, was her elder sister, blocking out as much as possible the- things with which she was taking tea. How Kasumi managed to have the makings for tea on her at all times was completely beyond the gunner.

Especially in that dress. As tight as that thing was, there was absolutely _no_ way she was using Hidden Weapons. And why a Western service?

Maybe she had done something to her purse?  
Glancing at the fallen formal handbag, Nabiki made an effort to ignore just what her commanding officer was treating to tea. Their existence made her head hurt. She _really_ needed to talk to Ranma after this, if he had managed this little abomination.

Magic, as seemed to be practiced in Nanoha's loop, did not allow for necromancy. Sure, you could get close, and if something was almost dead, you could keep it there- but no zombies, skeletons, vampires, or ghosts, as far as she knew.

How she had managed to keep the creatures from trying to eat her was something else entirely, and may or may not have had something to do with the fox-thing in her lap.

"Reinforce's going to get jealous," she noted.

"Oh, Nabiki! How are things going outside?"

The gunner blinked. "Um, well, the Devices ripped each other to shreds, and we cleaned up the rest, so I suppose things are going well. Unless Caro decided that getting some from Erio was more important and hid from Lieutenant Signum."

"How nice," her commanding officer beamed. "Tea?" she asked, offering a Western-style cup-and-saucer.

"Uh, sure." Maybe she was using some kind of storage seal?

"Nabiki?" Her attention snapped back to Kasumi.

"Eh?"

"You should say hello," she pointed out, gesturing at her... guests.

"Oh. Um." She looked at the Others. "Nabiki Lanster. Nice to meet you."

One of them- this one seemed to be having trouble deciding whether to be a dead human, a catgirl, or a cat; very distracting- raised its cup in toast.

"Thanks," she mumbled. "So," she began, "are you going to let them go home any time soon?"

The Mistress of the Night Sky blinked. "Oh my. I had not even thought..." She glanced over at the one that had toasted Nabiki. "Do you need to go? It would hardly be polite to keep you here..."

It shrugged and sipped its tea.

Nabiki Lanster, the nominatively "normal" member of Riot Force Six, hung her head and rubbed her forhead with the back of her left hand. "I swear," she sighed, "I will never understand you." She took a deep breath and looked up. "Anyway, Colonel," she continued sweetly, "we have a bit of a situation for you to take charge of. We have fifty or eighty known major interdimensional criminals in custody, who knows how much contraband, and Ranma summoned up these guys." She waved at the whatever-they-were.

The older brunette frowned. "Oh, dear. Godzilla?"

"On his way," the younger one confirmed.

It was the Colonel's turn to rub her head. "Can Reinforce not take care of it?"

Nabiki grinned. "She's _your_ Device."

The older one sighed irritably. "Oh well. I suppose I shall have to cut this short, then. Just like Ranma to not clean up his own messes," she muttered. Turning to her guests, she apologized, "I have to go now. I would really appreciate it if you finished up your cups and gave them to Nabiki here." To Nabiki, she said, "Just put them in my purse, please," and walked off.

The private told the retreating back, "It won't fit." When it kept going its way, she muttered to herself, "Dammit. I'm _so_ gonna kick her ass."

The edge of a saucer touched her upper arm, just below the sleeve. She sighed and, picking up the tray, began collecting the dirty china. Who knew what that woman would do to her if it broke?

As the last one dissipated, she eyed the purse. "How am I supposed to get it in there?"

A sudden thought struck her. "Just how did she get free, anyway?"

* * *

"There you are," the Blessed Wind said as her Mistress and commanding officer stomped up. That in itself was unusual. "I was starting to get worried."

"I had been taking tea with some _very_ unusual guests," she replied irritably. "And then, I found out that Mister Scrya had summoned them."

The Device blinked. "And that's bad?"

"When he summons anything? Yes." The brunette ran a hand through her hair, making a visible effort to get himself under control. "Nabiki said there was..." She hesitated, trying to remember just what her little sister had said. "A giant dinosaur coming this way?" she compromised, since Nabiki had said no such thing.

Reinforce nodded. "The Ground Forces are currently moving to contain it. They have not," she said, her voice rich with amusement, "asked for any outside assistance or air support as of this time."

Long Arch One nodded and looked around. "Is there a containment team on its way here?"

"Not yet. They're still trying to deal with the kaiju."

Kasumi grunted and turned to glare at her overseer. "Is it not supposed to _go away_ when you dismiss it?"

Said young man simply shrugged. "Dunno. Go ask Caro; she's the summoner."

"I refuse to believe that you did not look into the matter," she replied in a cold, even voice. He shrugged again.

Reinforce winced. However this turned out, it was not going to be pretty.

"Lizards," the Mistress muttered. "Always the giant lizards. Reinforce," she snapped, "let us go and take care of this." Well, _Reinforce_ knew it was a snap, and Ranma, by the way he winced, did too. The others... not so much.

"Sucks to be you, ferret-boy," Vita said unsympathetically.

"You can have him in a few days," Fate told her CO. "I have... plans for him until then."

Okay, so maybe the others did.

Reinforce sighed as she Unisoned with her Mistress. Poor bastard.

* * *

The Mistress of the Night Sky had _not_ been happy to find that the kaiju in question had already been taken care of and shipped off to a bioweapon research facility somewhere suitably far from Mid, let alone Crannagan. She had _seriously_ needed to blow off some steam... so she went back and put the convention center and several surrounding acres on ice.

Literally.

It had been difficult enough for Reinforce to convince her to not freeze her team along with the prisoners; preserving Ranma had been almost impossible. It had taken her pointing out that it would be, technically, the same as attacking her commanding officer, at the least; it was an act that carried rather... severe punishments.

Watching Nanoha bounce off the frozen floor had been entertaining, though. The Archivist just might survive the Colonel's attentions, after all.

But that was providing that he survived _Fate's_.

The blonde had practically glued herself to him, somehow fitting one arm between her breasts. This, despite the fact that there had not been room for it with that dress.

Several hours later, after all the paperwork was done and the handover finally completed, Reinforce climbed out of the commandeered military cruiser and walked around to the passenger side to open it for her Mistress. She led the group up the path to the house and came across a very, _very_ unwelcome sight on their front porch.

Nanoha looked up at them, and standing, brushed the sand off of her skirt. "So, um... Fate kind of locked me out of our place for the night. She said I could come back tomorrow... Can I stay here until then?" she finished in a rush.

Vita blinked at her. "So... why'd you come here instead of going to the dorms? Subaru'd love to have you."

The chibi mumbled something under her breath.

"I'm sorry," Shamal replied, "could you say that again?"

"My key card is in the apartment," she said, blushing furiously. "It's not like I had anywhere to put it," she said defensively.

Vita just sighed. Signum shook her head, and Shamal hung hers. Reinforce looked at them, and then took a cautionary look at her Mistress. Kasumi was still worked up enough that she was muttering under her breath about what she was going to do to Scrya.

"Yes," she said slowly, opening the door, "I think we can find a place to put you."

"Thanks!" Nanoha chirped, and skittered inside as Signum held way open for her. It closed behind her with an ominous thud, and she looked back to see the Sword Knight innocently blocking the way.

"Mistress," Shamal said quietly into the "younger" brunette's ear, "we have a present for you."

Nanoha gulped as Kasumi focused on her. Maybe she should have bothered Lindy instead.

* * *

I should say, before any of you read this, that the omake below are completely _non-canon_. If they were, I'm pretty sure Fate would kill me.

Omake by ringlhach  
"Oh, great," Fate muttered, brute-forcing her way out of the binding spell. "Quatro. Just what I needed." Popping several of her joints back in, she picked up the munchkin that was her partner and made a production of trying to wad her up.

"Dieci, I choose you!" the insane woman declared at the top of her lungs, throwing a red-and-white ball.

Another woman, some ten feet off, blinked and said, "What."

"Hey, Fate, that hurts!" Nanoha objected as she was twisted into a shape not normally attainable by humans.

Quattro stomped her foot. "You're supposed to appear in a flash of red light!"

The woman that was evidently Dieci blinked again as she processed that. "... Why?"

"Ow!" Nanoha hollered.

"Because! Get out there!" Quattro made a shooing motion.

"Who's Quattro?" Ranma asked.

"Crazy cyborg woman," Fate informed him. Evidently satisfied with her shaping of Nanoha, she made a production of covering her in a yellow sheathe of energy. She took up a bowling stance, raising the ball-shaped girl in front of her face. "Works for Scaglietti."

The Archivist blinked. "The guy Nanoha blew up?"

"Yeah."

"... And why is this important again?" he asked.

Fate drew back her arm, slid a foot forward, and threw the ball with all of her strength. "_He made Vivio cry._"

She watched with extreme satisfaction as the ball shot along the ground before detonating on Quattro, knocking her and Dieci into the air. "Strike!" she declared, pumping a fist in the air.

"Remind me not to make Vivio cry, then," the older Anchor noted.

* * *

Omake by ringlhach

Fate gently pulled Ranma inside. "I said that we were going to talk, did I not?" A Lightning Bind snapped into being around Nanoha. "You will have to find somewhere else to sleep tonight," she told the smaller girl, and waved as the brunette was teleported out.

"Now, where were we?" the blonde purred, pushing him onto the couch.

"Uh..."

Her hands reached for the laces on her bodice, slowly untying them. Ranma's eyes followed her fingers as she unpicked the cords holding it to her, and the entire thing dropped, leaving her completely naked. The Librarian blushed and tried to look away; she laid her hands on his cheeks, and rather forcefully directed his head into her breasts.

A little too forcefully, it turned out, since "Ranma" dispersed in a puff of smoke.

Fate's mouth hung open for a second, and then clicked shut. Her jawline firmed.

"_**SON OF A BITCH!**_"

* * *

Date Omake by Innortal

"A date?"

"Ook. Ook?"

"Well, yeah; you'd need to get her something. I'd go with flowers."

"Ook?"

"Well, even a female of ... her type," he said cautiously, "would appreciate the gesture."

* * *

Godzilla Omake by Innortal

"Ook. Ook?"

"Yeah, nothing like watching a sunset on a quiet evening."

**"ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRR!**

"... Ook?"

"Nah, we're fine. He likes tall buildings and power lines. None of that here."

* * *

Omake by Nanya

Chibi!Nanoha: *Glowering*

Subaru: What's wrong with her?

Chibi!Nanoha: *Glowering*

Fate: *Extremely pleased look.*

Chib!Nanoha: *Glowering*

Nabiki: ...What? Did they bind her up and have sex when she couldn't watch?

Chib!Nanoha: *Glowering*

Ranma: *Chuckles* Yep.

Chib!Nanoha: *Glowering*

Nabiki: Heh... Good job.

Chib!Nanoha: *Glowering*

* * *

Omake: Innortal

"What is this 'Ooze'?" asked Nanoha.

"I don't know, but what a cute little turtle and wolf-man!"

"I want those four turtles and the rat-man!"

"This wasn't happening when this was an auction..."

* * *

Booths at the Con Ideas: Not all of them were used, but still, credit should go where it's due.

Innortal

Time in a Bottle: for when there isn't enough hours in the day.  
Spare clones: have a liver to spare.  
Sailor Senshi: the few, the proud, the most well dressed fighters of evil out there.  
Evil Mage Guild: Support your right to own doomsday weapons.  
Brain Slugs: once you have one on your head, you'll never want to take it off.  
Mage Apathy Party: whatever.

LightGuard

The Hypnotoad Conservation Booth. Credit also goes to LightGuard for proposing the whole battle-at-the-con thing.


	7. Chapter 7: Fallout

Fate opened her eyes to the back of someone's head. Not Nanoha's, which would have been odd, given that the smaller woman usually slept facing her and, ah, lower down. Black hair, pigtail... Ranma. She had finally gotten him in the sack last night. Such a strange day. Had it not been for her new lover's presence, she could have sworn that it was a dream. It was certainly strange enough.

Having satisfactorily resolved the identity of her bedmate, she snuggled up against him and went back to sleep. Well, she tried to, anyway; how were you supposed to snuggle with someone who kept moving away?

How he slept through rolling over top of her to get more space when he reached the edge of the bed was beyond her. She would not have believed that he had, except for what that Device- no, she was a seal, not a Device. Who in their right mind made a sentient seal? Anyway, the impertinent little thing had then rather pointedly reminded her that she needed to track down her roommate.

She grouchily sat up in bed, wincing as she swung one leg over the edge. With as much... practice as she and Nanoha got, she would have thought she would be in better shape than this. Swinging the other leg over, she found, dulled the soreness considerably. Maybe she had pulled something? She really did not want to spend time thinking about what down there could have been pulled, though.

Standing, she made her way to the bathroom- naked and as sexily as her sore self could manage, just in case he really was awake, carefully ignoring the scattered clothing that had made up Ranma's outfit. If he was awake, he made no comment, though the seal-thing wolf-whistled after her. Carefully skirting sticky patches- she found the first one by stepping in it not two feet away from the bed; surely they had not created _all_ of these- she finished the ten feet to the appropriate door, leaving it open behind her as she carefully stepped over yet another puddle. She really owed the cleaning staff a tip. A big one. Probably with much alcohol involved; she would have to find out what the cleaning lady's drink of choice was and just hope it would not completely kill her budget.

It worked for pilots, after all. It was worth a shot.

The hot water helped considerably with the soreness. She took her time in the Western shower, half hopeful that the sound of running water would wake Ranma up for another few rounds. Another piece of her just wanted to get herself clean- getting messy might be fun, but _being_ messy was just kind of disturbing. Especially when the mess was cold, slimy, and quite literally everywhere. If her ablutions absorbed their remaining hot water... well, Ranma would just have to deal with it. It was really too bad that their flat did not have a kitchenette; food would have been next on the list of things to attempt to wake her lover.

That led to another little daydream, involving the two of them, various fruits, Nanoha, and a tub of whipped cream, and aided by the relaxing heat; it suddenly turning cold on her elicited a yelp. Fortunately, her general soreness had meant that her hands kept doing their tasks instead of wandering off to what would have normally been a very pleasant diversion. She was... well, not _clean_, exactly, but clean enough so as to be presentable after the mess that was yesterday. At least she smelled like something other than sex.

Not that it would keep anyone with half a mind from realizing what had happened.

Still, she was not exactly quiet as she got dressed and then let the apartment door close behind her. Teach _him_ to sleep in when she wanted some. He would find the note she left... eventually. Probably as soon as he went into the bathroom; she had written it on his chest in lipstick. What did it take to wake him up for another round?

* * *

Forty-five minutes later- damn morning traffic and laws that refused to let her fly without a flight plan!- she was pulling up to Kasumi's house. Shamal- apparently, Kasumi was still asleep- had answered the phone; she was in the middle of trying to produce breakfast and needed a hand that none of her cohabitants were ready or available to provide. While her cooking was not nearly as bad as it had been in other Loops, she was more comfortable with some kind of oversight in the kitchen.

Fate just hoped Kasumi would not get mad at her.

After a few minutes of pleasantries, the blonde Knight had confided that Nanoha had had a very rough night. So had Vita, for some reason. Whatever that reason was- and Fate very, very carefully did not ask about it- was why their Mistress was still asleep.

Climbing out of the car, she smoothed down her knee-length skirt over her hose. So what if it was technically a uniform piece? A skirt was a skirt, unless it was a dress skirt or a mini or-

She shook her head to clear that train of thought. Not what she needed right now. Still, she adjusted the garters, making sure they were laying flat- they chafed if they twisted; she never understood just how that happened, since both ends were attached- and smoothed her blouse on the way up to the door. Signum was waiting, in a workout outfit; it seemed that she had just finished.

The odd smile on her face was... interesting. "Good morning, Testarossa," the Wolkenritter said. "I trust that you are here for that thing?"

Fate frowned at her lieutenant. "Don't call her a 'thing,' Signum. You know her name."

The pink-haired woman shrugged. "It is what she is, and after last night, that is only moreso." She opened the door, stepped in, and took off her shoes. "I'm home," she called. "Testarossa is here for that thing."

"Not a thing," the brunette on the couch mumbled. She was face-down and completely nude.

"Good morning," Shamal said, sticking her head out of the kitchen. "Will you be staying for breakfast?"

"No," she demurred, "I have a house-guest of my own to feed. I just came for Nanoha."

The loli lifted her head. "Fate?" She rolled off the couch onto her feet and flew across the room. "Fate, you do love me, after all!"

The older-looking blonde caught her partner and held her to her chest. "Of course I do, I just needed the apartment for a bit. What happened last night, and why are you still naked?"

"Because she's raw from the waist down and around the ribs," Signum said factually, taking the girl's spot on the couch, although she remained sitting. "Scrya has a cream that might help with that."

Fate blinked and stared at the Sword Knight, not sure how she had meant that. Signum's face was impassive as ever, giving her no clues. "Um. I will be sure to ask," she said carefully. "Now, where are your clothes, Nanoha?"

"They're- they're-" The other Anchor looked to be on the verge of having a breakdown.

"They're in the Colonel's room," Reinforce said from the kitchen; so that was why Shamal was already cooking. Fate had been wondering. "I will send them over later. It might be better for her just to wear a Barrier Jacket until she gets home; that way, she does not have to worry about irritating the skin further. I will send her clothes over later, when we go into the office. You have _no_ idea how much paperwork that little show generated yesterday."

Fate nodded. "You might be surprised. We should get going, though; he's still asleep. Or was, anyway. I need to get breakfast, if I am to keep him from eating the furniture."

Signum waved her off. "Go, then. Bring him our greetings... and let him know that Mistress will want to speak with him later. In person, most likely. His superiors will likely have a similar opinion, only she seems to be able to tell the difference between him and his clones." She paused. "How _does_ she do that, anyway?"

Fate shrugged. "He says it is because she doesn't use just two sets of senses, and leaves it at that."

"Other senses than physical and magical," Nanoha said, pressing her face into one of Fate's breasts. "My family's style uses ki, so they have to be able to sense it."

The pink-haired woman on the couch blinked. "Huh. I wonder if I could learn that." She paused. "I may have to visit your family sometime, Takamachi. You never mentioned it to me."

"I didn't?" The girl scratched her head with a free hand. "Huh."

"Anyway, errands," Fate pointed out. "We shall see you later. Until then, have a nice day, Signum, Shamal, Reinforce."

Signum coughed into her fist as the long-haired blonde made her way to the door. "Are you not forgetting something?"

"Eh? What's that?" Fate asked.

Signum just pointed at the still-naked Nanoha.

"Whoops," the clone murmured, flushing. Nanoha, though, squeaked and summoned her Barrier Jacket.

"Better," the lieutenant allowed. "At least this way, you will not embarrass us."

"Hey!" Nanoha objected.

"Oh? You think that you leaving this place without a shred of clothing would make the division look good?" One eyebrow shot up.

"Well, when you put it like that..."

"Breakfast," Fate reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. Suppose we'd better get going, then."

The blonde nodded. "Have a nice day, Signum, Shamal, Reinforce. Say hello to Vita and Kasumi for us." The farewell was more firm this time.

"We will," Signum said, showing her to the door.

"Have a nice day!" Shamal and Reinforce chorused from the kitchen.

* * *

Nanoha was dropped off at their room before Fate continued on to the chow hall for takeout, the better to avoid questions about her wearing her Barrier Jacket. Fate collecting food to bring back to the room was hardly unusual.

Fate picking up five or six containers of mixed breakfast foods was, though, and soon enough, the rumor mill was flying fast enough to hit the forwards in the collective face.

"So," Subaru asked, munching on a slice of toast, "you think she finally got in His pants?"

"Probably." Nabiki shrugged; it was about time, by her reckoning. "Not really any of our business, though. I'm sure we'll be able to ask soon enough."

"Huh?" Erio asked. "Why?"

"Because ten of the chow-hall takeout boxes aren't anywhere near enough for Ranma. Besides, he just walked in. I wonder why Lilith is out, though."

"Oh." He paused and blinked at his teammate. "Where are you going?" he asked her.

"Someone needs to make sure he treated Fate right," Caro pointed out. "None of you are moving, and if I ask now, I just might get an answer instead of a faceful of food. Or mine stolen."

Subaru shrugged, absently stealing one of Caro's pancakes. "Shouldn't we ask her, first?" Caro twitched, glaring, and Subaru froze before putting the pancake back where she had gotten it. "I mean," she began, sweating, "shouldn't we, uh, get her opinion on it before we go and get his? We all know how men are when it comes to their performance."

"Hey!" Erio objected.

"No offense, Erio, but she's right," Nabiki agreed. "I know Ranma, and he would be boasting like crazy. We can ask Lilith instead, and she's more likely to eat one of us than overrate Ranma's performance." She might do that anyway, if she thought one of them needed it. None of them needed to know that, though.

"Lilith?" Caro looked confused.

"The Unison Device," Subaru told her.

"Oh." That took a minute to register, and then she squeaked, "_He has a Unison Device_?"

"No, not really," Nabiki said. "She's closer to being a seal than a Device. She eats up a lot of power, and has a lot in her own right. Well, she does now, anyway. His magic works a lot differently from how you do things." So did hers, but, again, that was her ace-in-the-hole, as it were.

"Oh, like that spell you used on the _Book of Darkness_ simulation?" Erio asked.

The brunette twitched. "Yes, like that. Except... well, you saw the binding spell in the Center yesterday, right?" She waited for their nods. "That was something he came up with. It's called Glepnir, and as far as I can tell, he pulled it out of his ass."

The pink-haired girl blinked. "What?"

"Pulled it out of his ass, made it on the fly, had a brainstorm-" Subaru began helpfully.

"I know what it means," the summoner snapped. "How do you come up with something like _that_ out of nowhere?"

Nabiki shrugged. "It's what he does. Other people make plans, have superpowers, or have Deus Ex come save them. He doesn't bother, since plans all go to hell around him anyway, and the ones with the superpowers are usually trying to kill him. Weren't you going to go ask Lilith something?"

The younger girl glared at the older one, and the gunner simply stared back. After a minute, Caro stomped off in the general direction of Ranma and his "Device."

"Was that really necessary?" Subaru asked quietly.

"She'll learn," her teammate returned. "Just hope it's not the hard way. If she tries to get in Ranma's face, though, it probably will be." Nabiki shrugged. "And who knows, Lilith actually might eat her."

"What!" Erio barked, half-standing.

"Oh, sit down, kid," the older Looper told him, waving him down. "Not like that." She paused. "Okay, maybe like that; I don't know what her kinks are- and I'd like to keep it that way!" she snapped at the cyborg at the table, who had her mouth open to answer. "If she needs to get off, Lilith will be able to tell and then do something about it. Not now, probably, but eventually, and before it turns into a problem. She's had more experience with that than you can imagine."

She coughed into her hand. "Anyway, my point is, she needs to relax a bit. If she doesn't, someone will make her, and it won't be pretty." She frowned. "For any of us. One thing I learned a long time ago is that yeah, you can push Ranma- but his life pushes back."

It was Subaru's turn to frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Nabiki hesitated. "Things... happen... around Ranma. There's no other word for it. Do you know what the word 'ran' means in Nanoha's language, the way he writes it?" she asked, apparently switching subjects. "It's how he signs technique scrolls, training certificates and the like."

Subaru blinked and thought back to the few Loops she had spent any real amount of time on her idol's homeworld. "Um, isn't it something like 'crazy?'"

"Close enough," the gunner allowed. "It's usually read 'wild,' and with the stuff that happens in his life- just happens, without him even doing anything!- makes him live up to it."

A moment of silence, broken by Erio. "Isn't that dangerous?" he asked, slightly worried.

Nabiki shrugged. "A little, yes. Not too bad, though." She cast an eye over toward Caro, Ranma, and Lilith. It looked like the girl was fine; she was still standing and seemed to have all of her limbs, anyway. "So, what happens next?" she asked.

Subaru blinked. "Huh? Oh, that. Um, let's see," she mumbled around a mouthful of cold cereal, "we get some more training in, Tea snaps, we get a level of limiters taken off of our Devices, and then Vivio gets here."

"I hope I can pass on the whole snapping thing," the brunette replied sardonically.

The purple-haired woman shrugged. "Dunno. You seem to be a lot better balanced than Tea used to be."

A bell-like laugh sounded from where Caro was attempting to question Ranma and Lilith, and they turned in time to see her flee red-faced. The furiously blushing young lady made haste back to their table, and Nabiki asked, "Well?"

If anything, the little summoner blushed harder. "We can, um, go check on them in a few hours. They said to give the Captains some time to, uh, pull themselves together. Maybe after lunch."

One of Nabiki's eyebrows went up. "Oh?"

Caro's face literally started glowing. "Stop trying to embarrass me!" she whined. "The nerve of that thing! I can't believe it wanted to..." She shot a quick look at Erio. A trickle of blood made its way out of her nose, and she wobbled uneasily on her feet, steadying herself easily with the back of her chair and turning the totter into sitting down. "How do you stand her?" she demanded of the two older, and presumably more experienced, forwards.

Nabiki chuckled. "Well, you were the one that wanted to go ask."

Subaru shrugged. "I never had to deal with her."

Nabiki grinned maliciously. "She knows a lot of tricks- but so do I."

Caro decided not to ask just what kind of tricks those were. Not in public, at any rate.

* * *

Several hours later, Lieutenant Colonel Yagami Kasumi made her way into work, accompanied by Reinforce. She was fairly sure that the Ground Forces commander, General Gaiz, was going to try to make an example of someone, and she was going to do her damnedest to make sure it was not one of her people.

Ranma, on the other hand, was on his own.

Kasumi had barely settled in when Admiral Chrono Harlaown stormed in. In person, no less, and inquiring loudly as to the whereabouts of no less a personage than the Honorable Ranma Scrya, Head Librarian and Chief Archivist of the Infinite Library, bane of the Book of Darkness, etc, etc... also known, in this case, as "that fuzzy bastard," "Goddamn ferret," or to-be-served-his-own-genitalia-for-lunch. Poor Reinforce was trailing behind him, attempting to dissuade him from further interrupting her Mistress's morning routine.

While Kasumi greatly appreciated the man's equipment, she much preferred it where it was, and so she stood and greeted one of the unit's sponsors. "Admiral Harlaown. How may I help you?"

"Where is he?" the man demanded.

She blinked and waved off the non-com. "By 'he,' you mean Ranma?"

"Who else would I want to see?" Chrono snapped.

"I have no idea," she told him honestly. "I have not seen Ranma since the... incidents... yesterday. He spent the night with Fate, though; Nanoha ended up on my doorstep because of it."

The admiral's mouth flapped dumbly. After a moment, he murmured, "My mother... _and_ my sister?" Another minute later, he firmed and raised a fist. "Ranma Scrya, for what you have done to my family, you dishonorable cur, prepare to die!"

Kasumi could no longer stop herself. She fell back into her chair, laughing her ass off.

"No," Chrono ranted, "death is too good for you. No, I shall ensure that no one may call you a man!"

Kasumi slumped over the desk, hunching over and clutching at her stomach. "No more, please!"

"Um... No more what?" the senior officer asked, distracted from his righteous tirade against the foul despoiler.

The junior officer just pointed at him.

He turned around, hoping that there was someone or something there to earn her mirth. There was, but it was Reinforce, who looked just as confused as he did. He reiterated, "What?"

"Ranma- man," she managed.

The admiral blinked. "He's not?"

"No, no," she managed through her mad cackle, waving, "he is, but- but you have no... No idea what he will do to you if you try something like that."

The admiral twitched and snapped, "Oh, yeah, because he's just _so_ threatening. I could take him."

Reinforce arched a delicate eyebrow. "Is that so? Could you take the protection program?"

Chrono cringed as that little reminder hit home. "You have any suggestions?" he grunted. "You just don't touch my mom like that!"

Kasumi laughed harder.

The sergeant sighed. "You know, that might be part of the problem."

He stared at her blankly. "Huh?"

"When was the last time she got any?" the construct asked pointedly over her commander's laughter, and then modified it slightly. "Before today, I mean."

"She's my mom! How the hell should I know? It's not like I _want_ to know about her sex life," he snapped bitterly, slumping into one of the guest seats. "When Amy called, she thought she'd been raped or something. She was taking the twins over to spend the day with their grandmother while she ran some errands."

Reinforce muttered, "My point. I'm going to go have some tea made."

Finally regaining enough self-control to stop giggling like the schoolgirl she technically had been a year or so ago, Kasumi straightened her blouse and leaned forward. "And so she called you?"

The man nodded. "When I got there, she had Mom covered with a blanket, but Carol and Leira were asking why Gramma looked so happy, how come she got to be naked, and what all that white stuff was." Chrono shuddered. "And the smell. Do you have any idea how hard it is to explain that to a four-year-old?" he demanded.

She stared at him flatly.

"Well?"

The brunette sighed and stood to face her window. "Admiral, do you have any idea how old I am?"

He blinked. "You're nineteen."

One hand went to her face, presumably to cover her mouth. "That is not exactly what I was asking," she murmured. "Do you know how many different Loops there are, or how many different ways any given Loop might play out?"

He cocked his head as the non-com came back in with a tray. "No. What does that have to do with it?"

"There are many, many Loops that carry the chance of raising children," she expounded. "My own is not normally one of them... but we are one of the oldest Loops out there, and the shortest. Do you understand what that means?"

Kasumi was treated to two blank stares over steaming cups of tea, and she frowned. "Reinforce, I had thought that I had taught you better than that."

"Of course, Mistress," the Unison Device said, flushing slightly and picking up a cup of tea to offer her superior officer.

"Thank you." She sipped lightly on the cup, and then set it down. The silver-haired woman moved the cup onto a saucer, and the Colonel sighed. "That was unnecessary, Reinforce," she remonstrated. The recalcitrant Device shrugged, and the brunette ignored it in favor of her point. "You have no idea how many four-year-olds I have had to deal with, Admiral. And I will be the first to assure you- if, for some reason, your mother has not, that children have the most interesting questions about things. Even if it is only 'why,' repeated endlessly."

"Yeah, but how many of them have been _your_ four-year-old?" the man shot back.

"Do you really think that it would matter?"

"I think he's still trying to get past his mother having a sex life," the sergeant contributed.

"You should not speak so about a ranking officer, Reinforce. Even if it is true," Kasumi said, sipping again at her tea.

"Hey!" Chrono barked. "I'm not that bad!"

"So you think," his hostess murmured.

"Yagami Kasumi, I'll have you know that there is nothing unusual about not caring about your mother's sex life," he snapped defensively.

"Then why did you want to kill Ranma?"

"He had sex with her and left her there!"

"And how is that not caring about her sex life?"

Reinforce's head swung from side to side as she watched them toss their points back and forth.

"Because Amy and the twins walked in on her!"

"And they did not wait on the door?"

"She wasn't answering! Amy was worried!"

"She is hardly of an age to be worrying about such things," Kasumi noted absently. "It also has nothing to do with why Ranma was involved."

"She said something about his Device, and it's not like it'd go anywhere without him."

Reinforce chuckled lightly. "She's not a Device, you know."

"Whatever," he grunted, waving it aside. "That has nothing to do with this."

"On the contrary," Kasumi corrected him, "that has everything to do with this. She is a sex demon, after all."

"My mother is not a sex demon," the Admiral growled icily.

"Oh, my, not her," the Colonel said sweetly. "I meant Lilith."

Chrono froze while that processed, and the women sipped their tea. After a moment, he bolted to his feet and roared, "_WHAT! I'm going to kill them!_"

"Oh, do sit down," the brunette scolded him. "It is not like you would be able to do anything about it, even if you were to find them."

"Wanna bet?" he snarled.

"You can't take me," the silver-haired woman pointed out. "What makes you think that you could take her? Or him, since they did?"

"I don't care," he snapped, and stomped out.

"He left his tea," the Device said mournfully.

"Oh well," her commanding officer commented. "More for us."

* * *

"Stop laughing at me!" Chrono snapped at two soldiers on the way out the door. The poor maintainers had no idea what he was talking about; they had only just come up here, responding to a request to fix a broken pane of glass by the door.

After the admiral stalked angrily through the door, seemingly not noticing its presence, one of the workers shook her head. "We loose more doors that way."

The other shrugged. "We're not paying for it," he noted. "It's all government money, anyway. Just be glad we're not on the crew for the Infinite Library. One of my buddies does work there; says the place is run by an army of clones. Says it's enough to drive you nuts."

She blinked. "You mean it's being run by a Device? Who'd have enough magic to power one like that?"

* * *

A number of people and one demoness in and around Crannagan sneezed.

Chrono was not one of them.

* * *

He shook his head. "No, that's the thing- they're all _people_."

She shuddered. "Freaky." Squaring her shoulders, she hefted her Storage Device. "Let's get going. This place is weird."

* * *

The biggest thing about the Library, Ranma had always thought, was that it had no business being as large as it was.

It was imposing enough from the outside, a giant block of a building, with the only real windows in the original structure in the vestibule. There were one or two that he had added in his wing- even after all this time, he still preferred the easy access of an open window to having to go find a door, just in case. Again, though, those were things he had added. Most of what passed for windows were actually part of a network of near-real-time self-sustaining scrying spells, all tied to appropriate places on the outside of the structure.

It was all terribly inefficient, magically speaking, but it _was_ secure.

Somehow, despite the exterior, the interior was even larger. It was not quite subspace, nor was it the "L-space" that the Unseen University Librarian had taught him about. It was just something that _was_.

It was also copied to his personal subspace pocket, but you needed backups, right?

To the uninitiated, even the unrestricted portions of the Library were a confusing maze, the stacks of books stretching endlessly in every direction but down. Unless you were flying; then they went that way, too. As a matter of course, people were not allowed in the Library unescorted. Doing things that way meant more ass-pain later; search parties had to be organized, guides supplied, and generally shutting down the Library for a few days. They had lost people for weeks, back there, and it was both easier and safer to sit people down in a reading room and supply what they wanted.

Chrono had figured that he knew better.

When he stormed into the Library, he had grabbed each clone and _fylgja_ he came across, trying to derive the location of the original. When they knew nothing, he dispersed them- usually noisily. That would draw another, to see what the ruckus was, and the cycle repeated itself, migrating slowly into the deeper shelves.

The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by twilight, the vague shapes of bookshelves surrounding him. He blinked; he did not remember ever being so deep in the Library. It was what they had researchers for, after all; he himself had rarely strayed beyond the front desk, and not even that in years.

"So, I hear you're looking for us," Ranma's disembodied voice said from... somewhere. He spun again, trying to figure out just where the man was. He even looked up, but to no avail; the archivist must have been hiding.

"First Nanoha, then my sister, and then my mother," Chrono spat. "Can't you even _try_ to keep it in your pants?"

"Hey," the man said defensively, floating down from the high shelves, "I'll have you know I didn't lay a hand on Nanoha or your mother."

"Bullshit, Scrya," the admiral barked. "I know what a woman looks like when she's been fucked silly- and Mom and Nanoha wouldn't fuck just anyone."

One of Ranma's eyebrows shot up. "Really, now. To hear Amy talk, you'd be the last person to know what that looks like." Ignoring Chrono's startled denial, he continued, "I didn't say that I wasn't _there_, just that I didn't touch them. That was Lilith."

"She's a Device. Same thing," the other man snarled.

Ranma sighed. "She's not a Device," he said tiredly. "She's a damn _seal_. How often do I have to explain this? It's not like 'she eats the extra power I don't need so the multiverse doesn't collapse' is a hard thing to understand."

"More bullshit." Chrono snorted. "Nobody's that powerful."

Ranma looked at him, amused. "Really. I took out the Defense Program myself... and I was still holding back. The only things I used in that fight, once we got it out of Kasumi, were things I learned here. What do you think would've happened if I'd used the ones I'm used to?"

"More tornadoes," the admiral replied instantly.

Ranma blinked. "What for? It's not like I'd need to. Anyway, how do you even know about Nanoha and your mom?"

"So you did!" The blue-black-haired man pounced on the perceived admission.

"When did I say that?" Ranma sighed. "You know what? Lil, you did this, you deal with it." The "Device" appeared with a startled squawk. "Have fun," her Master said, and disappeared into the shadows. "I have to go make sure this dumbass didn't kill off all of the Library staff."

"Dammit, Ranma, my name's 'Lilith,' not 'Lil!' And you _are_ the library staff! If he'd killed you, you'd know!" She stomped a tiny foot. "Ranma! Get back here!"

Chrono eyed her skeptically. "Are you _sure_ you weren't designed by the same people who made Agito?"

"I wasn't designed, dammit! Ranma! Come help me explain this!"

A fading, ghostly chuckle was her only answer.

The succubus sighed. "Well, he told me to have fun," she said, eying the man speculatively. "I might as well. I'll just apologize to Amy later."

Chrono blinked. "What? Why would you have to apologize?"

The demoness's form abruptly swelled into full human adulthood. "You'll see."

* * *

Ranma arched an eyebrow as an adult Lilith sauntered back into his quarters. "You didn't do anything permanent, did you?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "No, of course not. I'm not stupid." That was met with a snort, and she admitted, "Okay, I might have to apologize to Amy and maybe Fate later. But it wasn't like I wouldn't have had to do that anyway. Chrono's _her_ toy."

The Librarian sighed. "Did you at least clear up that bit about you not being a Device?"

She smirked. "That was the easy part."

He gave her a Look. "What did you do."

She curled a finger around her chin-length hair. One of these days, he would get her to explain why she kept it that length; how long one's hair was did not seem to be all that important, after all. "Nothing permanent."

"What did you do," he repeated.

She sighed. "Go look for yourself. It wasn't that bad, I promise. He's in one piece, he's not bleeding, and he's probably in shock, so you'll want to get him home anyway."

"Dammit, Lilith," Ranma grunted, "I'm tired of cleaning up after your meals. Can't you drop them off somewhere after you've beaten them senseless?"

Lilith's jaw went slack. After a moment, she pulled herself back together, and flatly replied, "Yes. Beaten. That's exactly what I did. I beat him unconscious, and _that's_ why I'm going to have to apologize to Amy and Fate, but not Chrono at all."

"Well, he was being an ass," the Librarian said reasonably.

She shook her head. "I don't understand you sometimes. And after all this time... Ah, well. Whatever. What you don't know won't hurt you." She paused. "Well, not this time, anyway." She shrunk down to what they had learned to be her normal size for this Loop and plunged into his chest.

He sighed and cued up a comm screen to the lead janitorial clone. "We'll need to find Chrono and get him home," the told the shadow-clone. "Let me know when it's done."

"You gonna tell me where he is?" the janitor replied sarcastically .

"Why should I- oh, wait, Chrono didn't get you, did he. Well, he's off in the middle of the Library..."

"Because that narrows it down oh so much."

"Shut up, you. You know what? I'll just send one from here." He sighed and cut the connection.

Two hours later, he began slamming his head on the desk. "Dammit, Lilith!"

* * *

By Nabiki's lights, it was early. Okay, so she had woken up and eaten breakfast out of habit, but when she found out that Kasumi had declared it a reconstitution day, she had gone back to sleep. The last thing she had expected when the banging on her door started was an interrogation, especially since the one making the racket had been her roommate.

Sitting at her desk after hurriedly throwing on a pair of shorts, Nabiki looked at the munchkin that, in any other military she'd been exposed to, would have been the platoon sergeant. "What."

The redhead glared up at her. "What the hell was with the cat talk!"

Nabiki rubbed her forehead. "Have you even tried talking to Kasumi about this? Or, you know, _Ranma_, since it's his problem?"

"She's busy, doing the paperwork from yesterday's mess," Subaru, sprawled on the top bunk, said helpfully. "And the Evil Master's working. I know better than to..." She paused to look at the spluttering brunette. "What's so funny?"

"Evil... master," she managed through her laughter.

"He is," the cyborg insisted. "You haven't..." She stopped as that sent the gunslinger into another round. "It's not that funny," she pouted.

"Dunno how he trains you," Vita muttered, "but he ain't evil. I've seen evil." The redhead's eyes darkened as she slipped into memory. Snapping out of it after a few seconds, she added loyally, "Kasumi and Nanoha wouldn't be his friends if he was."

"Trust me," Nabiki chuckled, "you haven't seen bad training. Just wait until you're where we're from. It'll happen eventually, and then you'll meet Ranma's dad and _his_ master. Then you'll see bad training.

"He's been working on that program of his for... well, I don't know how long, and he's tried most of it out on me, once he's sure a normal person can handle it. He's got it down pretty well by now, I think."

Vita looked at her flatly. "He's nineteen."

Nabiki shrugged. "He's also the oldest thing in this Loop. Don't ask me how it works, it just does."

The Iron Knight sighed. "One of these days, I'm going to make one of you explain that."

"Good luck with that." The brunette snorted. A moment of silence passed, and then she asked, "What happened to the lizard, anyway?"

* * *

A Ranma Scrya sneezed on the video screen in front of him. _A_ Ranma, because several others were clearly visible in the background over his shoulders; two of them appeared to be arguing about something.

"So you see," the caller said, ignoring the splatter that fogged his view of the man- men?- on the other end, "because of yesterday's events, you are legally required to submit reports-"

He yawned, scrubbing off the screen with a loose sleeve. "The one that was on your desk this morning, General?"

"What?"

"We submitted it late last night," the Ranma explained. "It should have been on your aide's desk this morning."

He lifted his gaze from the screen to stare at Auris, standing by the door. She indicated a sheet of paper off to the side of his desk, currently being used as a coaster for his coffee mug.

He picked it up and glanced at it. Brow furrowing, he looked at it a second time, and flipped it over. Apparently dissatisfied with what was on the reverse, he returned to the obverse side and frowned some more.

"It's one paragraph."

"You're not cleared for more."

"It doesn't say anything!"

"Yes, it does."

"You're telling me, then," the General paused to take in a deep breath, "that you knew about this- this _fiasco_ weeks ago?"

"Months," Scrya corrected him.

"Months! When did you plan on informing the chain of command!"

"I did."

"This is totally- what?"

"I submitted a plan of action to the TSA Council when the Mad Arcanists' Union came to me about hosting the conference."

"The Council? _I_ am your superior officer! All of your correspondence with the Council should go through me!"

The Scrya grinned viciously. "Wanna bet?"

Regius glared at the screen, flecks of foam beginning to build up at the corners of his mouth. "The hell I'm not!"

Auris cleared her throat. "General..."

"What!" His glare transferred itself to the woman.

"I am afraid that the Archivist," she said nervously, stressing the title, "is correct. He has no actual superiors, and is answerable only to the Council."

"You might want to wipe your mouth," the man suggested. "You're frothing, and you look like a mad dog."

It paused. "You know, the only reason I gave you a tear-line copy- and if you were paying attention, you'd know- was a courtesy performance evaluation, since Section Six was assigned as peacekeepers, and last I checked, they fell under you. I've included a good five other agencies on there."

"Why, you-!"

"Be careful, General. The Infinite Library archives every record every arm of the TSA produces- physical, media, and data- not just books. It's amazing what finds its way here."

Regius froze.

"It's just amazing, looking at who's backstabbed whom. Of course, someone like you would never stoop to that. Still, you might want to be careful. You're not gonna get any help from me after this, though." The screen vanished.

"That little..." Gaiz's voice trailed off. "Fine, then," he growled after a minute. "He's just as vulnerable as I am, then. As for you..." He glared at Auris and drained his mug. "Get out!" he roared, hurling the cup to shatter against the wall by her head.

Ducking shards of ceramic and thrown knickknacks, she fled.

* * *

":_Do you really have any dirt on him?_:" Lilith asked curiously.

"Some," Ranma admitted. "He's been playing the game for a while, after all, and he's working pretty closely with some of the crazies. Only the weapons types, though; he's always looking for a bigger bomb."

":_I thought bombs were illegal here_.:"

"You know what I mean," he grunted irritably. "He's always looking for a stronger weapon. We caught some of them, but a few got away, too- and they aren't cross-identifying, either. The only way to really know what he's up to is to beat it out of someone."

* * *

A purple-haired man in the local police force's holding cells sneezed.

"Are you all right, Doctor?" his companion asked solicitously.

"Just fine. When will the others be here?"

"Soon, Doctor. Very soon."

* * *

"Today? Today sucked," the young man grouched, flopping back on his single bed in the Library. The room was downright tiny compared to most in the Library, only four meters square, and the bed took up a quarter of it. The freestanding wardrobe took up another two meters of wall, and left just enough space for a small desk. The size of the room was hardly ever an issue; he was hardly short on space, after all. "First Nanoha, then Lindy and Chrono, and then Gaiz. I need a break."

":_Wuss,_:" Lilith's voice snorted.

"Half of it was your fault!" he grunted back.

":_You'll live_,:" she replied with a distinct lack of sympathy. ":_Not like you haven't seen or done worse_.:"

"I'm not the one that pulled off a shikima act."

":_That's your fault_.:"

"How the hell is that _my_ fault?"

":_You're the one that got them so worked up_,:" she said logically. ":_If you'd just banged one of them_-:"

"They'd have tried to chain me to a bed somewhere, and you know damn well just how much I enjoy that." He snorted. "Is it wrong t' not wanna hafta screw people silly just to get some peace?" the young man demanded.

Lilith's silence was absolutely deafening.

Sitting back up, he continued, "Just 'cos I wanna keep my relationships simple? Soon as you toss sex in, things always get all weird."

":_That's because you don't do casual sex_,:" the succubus snapped. ":_When was the last time you had sex just to have sex?_:"

"Fate, today," he replied immediately.

":_Bullshit_,:" she said. ":_That was trying to get her off your back. Not too bad, I guess, since it ended up with her on hers, but no dice_.:"

"Same thing."

":_Not really_,:" the voice said dryly. ":_I'm a sex demon. Trust me when I say I know the difference_.:"

"Why're we talking about my sex life?" the young man asked after a minute.

":_You tried to blame me for today_,:" Lilith promptly replied. ":_Besides, you're just bitching. I like you, and I care, but not enough to just let you keep going_.:"

"I am _not_ bitching! It really did-"

":_Suck, yeah, I know. Still, you got to sex up two really hot ladies_-:"

"Two?" he interrupted. "Fate, yeah, but who was the second?"

":Me, jackass!:" the succubus thundered.

"I dunno," Ranma said doubtfully. "You're a little-"

":_Oh no you don't_,:" she interjected, ":_you aren't getting away from this. I took care of Chrono for you, and you enjoy giving Gaiz aneurisms. How was today really all that bad?_:" She paused for a moment. ":_Thought so. Now, do I need to drag our other two anchors into this, or are you going to behave?_:"

"I'll be good," the Librarian said meekly.

":_Good boy_.:"

* * *

"How much of the paperwork is left?" Reinforce asked, setting a steaming cup of tea in front of her Mistress.

The brunette gratefully clutched at the container and took a sip before responding. "Just one more form," she replied after swallowing. "This one is only fifty pages."

"Can it wait?" the sergeant asked.

"Unfortunately not," Kasumi sighed. "It's the nine-oh-four-three-two. It was supposed to be done by noon, but it can't be done until all of the rest are-"

"I'm familiar with it," the Device said. "A lot of the data are things you can copy from the other forms, so it's not so bad."

"Is that allowed?" the officer wondered doubtfully. "We have to fill them out individually..."

Reinforce sighed and raised a hand to her forehead. "Mistress, how have you gotten this far?"

The mage put a delicate finger to her chin. "Oh my, I wonder. Long hours?"

"Mistress!"

The brunette smiled. "Did you really think that I did not know how to make shadow clones? I admit, I have not quite figured out the _fylgjaur_, but I can come close, I think." She sighed. "Now that all of the reports are on the system, though, the _fylgjaur_ have become much, much more important, and I have even less time to work on them."

The Device shook her head. "There is more to efficiency than getting things done," she remonstrated. Kasumi smiled and took another sip even as Reinforce continued, "And to think, we had worried about how fractured your reports were."

The lieutenant colonel frowned. "My reports are not and have never been fractured."

"When was the last time you looked at your first few dozen?" Silver hair swayed as the woman shook her head. "We can talk about that later. What was with that giant lizard?"

The Mistress of the Night Sky blinked. "The Godzilla? It shows up every time Ranma tries to summon something, whether or not he actually gets it. I have never really understood why; I think you might understand that better than I."

Reinforce shook her head again; there was something there, but she set it aside for later pursuit. "And he- summoned- something? It felt nothing like when Private Ru Lushe summons anything..."

Her commander shrugged. "He must have. I am not quite sure what that mist was, but Nabiki might know." She set down the now-empty mug and looked distastefully at the screen. "Thank you for the tea, Reinforce. I have to get back to the reports."

Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, the Device collected the cup and left.

* * *

Caro's day began with a very noisy slam against the wall of the next room. Nabiki's response to Subaru's methods of wakening her was almost as good as an alarm clock.

If only she and Erio were allowed to share a room. Stupid cohabitation rules. Like any of the higher-ups actually followed them.

Collecting her toothbrush, washcloth and a hand towel, she stumbled to the door and made it halfway to the women's wing communal bathroom on her floor before realizing that she had left her workout clothes in her room. Sighing, the pinkette turned back to collect them.

Forty-five minutes later, she stomped down the stairs outside the barracks. Stupid Scrya, making them run this much. Nanoha may have made them run, but not twice around the base before running to the training pad.

Or the wind sprints they did after that. She hated wind sprints with a passion. She was supposed to stay still, summon things, and boost her team's abilities, not run around like a moron! She had allies she could call upon for that!

And those bullet-spells of his were stupid. She wasn't going to run faster just because of some stupid spell. No, she ran faster because of the occasional surprises those spells contained. Watching the older girls occasionally getting shocked, drenched or set on fire may be entertaining, but not when was happening to her or Erio.

Mostly her, she had to admit to herself. Erio had been fast to begin with, but- and she felt a little glow of pride for him on this- he was getting even faster, and was hit less often.

She was another story.

How did those get through her shields, anyway?

That thought was enough for a blue-green orb to make it through, catching her on the inside of her left thigh and soaking her pants. That led to several more strikes- two empty and a bright red electrical sphere as she tried to recover from the initial dousing.

"Not... fair," she panted as she collapsed at the end of the crossfire zone.

"Fights aren't," the hammer-wielding redhead supervising the torture said unsympathetically. "Get back in there."

"Why do I have to do this anyway?" she complained, making no move toward getting back on her feet.

Vita decided to help her out, picking her up by the back of her shirt and spinning around to gain momentum. "You... need... to... learn... to... _dodge_!" the loli grunted, tossing her back into the field.

"Not fair!" the girl complained again, but began dodging her way to the edge of the area again.

"More sweating, less bleeding," Nabiki suggested. She had yet to be hit today, the bitch.

Yet, as a golden electrical capsule swiped across her belly, leaving her hunched forward but still dodging.

"Less talking, more dodging!" the redhead commanded.

* * *

"Where did he get the idea for that, anyway?" Caro asked an hour later on the way back to the dorms.

"Father," the brunette replied, saving her breath for the run.

"His father threw spells at him?"

"Wasps' nests," the older girl corrected.

His father had thrown wasps' nests at him? "What for?" Erio asked.

"Hand-eye and speed. And he's crazy."

"If you're talking, you're not running fast enough!" their tiny sergeant bellowed, chasing after them with her hammer.

They ran faster.

* * *

"What's with the danmaku training approach, anyway?" Nanoha asked later that day, as the "instructors" sat at their table for lunch.

"Reaction speed," Ranma muttered around a mouthful of noodles from Vita's plate. "Also helps to teach sensing attacks."

"Hey!" the redhead snapped.

"Well, I guess it'd work," Nanoha allowed. "Still, I don't know that it's the best way."

"You got something better?" the Archivist asked, helping himself to a pickle from Nanoha's, even as he absently defended his plate from Vita.

The brunette scowled at him. "You know, one of these days, I'm just going to blast you for stealing my food," she observed darkly.

"So?"

"So?" the Ace of Aces snapped, "So? You've _seen_ what happens when I blast people, and that's with me holding back!"

"And you've never seen me go all out," the man pointed out, taking another mouthful from Vita's plate, much to the hammer-girl's dismay.

The captain snorted. "As if you're strong enough to challenge me."

Signum, filling the fourth seat at the table, snorted. Coincidentally, she was just close enough to Ranma to be part of the conversation, while still being far enough away to keep her food from being stolen.

He snorted and stole Nanoha's salad. Somehow. Considering that he only had the one fork, and there were quite a bit of lettuce and cabbage in that salad, it was vaguely impressive... but not enough to keep her irritation down. "That's it! You, me, tomorrow morning, in the training grounds! Knockout!" she snarled, slamming her cutlery to the table and standing up on her chair to point at him, one foot resting on the table.

He paused in his pilfering long enough to give her a serious look. "Are you sure you want that?"

"Yes!"

He shrugged and eyed her briefly before going back to stealing food from the rest of the table. "Whatever. You realize you're giving the rest of the mess hall a show, don't you?"

Indeed, even Vita had paused briefly to stare up her skirt, and was that a drop of blood at her nose?

She flopped back into her chair with a squeak, blushing furiously. "I'm still gonna kick your butt," she declared into her remaining food.

"Sure you are," he said indulgently.

The redhead shook herself and stood on her chair, careful to keep both feet perpendicular to the floor as she cried out, "Taking all bets!"

"Dammit, you midget, that's my schtick!" Nabiki roared over the crowd suddenly surging at the instructors' table. "You don't have a damn idea what you're getting into!" she continued to shout, struggling against her teammate's grabbing hands. "Dammit, Subaru, watch what you're touching!" she complained, struggling as the cyborg's superior strength pulled her back into her seat.

Signum looked at the irate gunner and then back toward the "younger" Knight. Leaning behind the angry brunette, making sure to keep a hand on the girl's collar, she asked, "Does she _really_ run books in her spare time?"

Ranma nodded. "She's been doing it pretty much forever."

The ponytailed woman blinked. After a moment, she mused, "It is not my position to discipline Stars squad, but some extra training may be in order."

He just grinned. "Go for it."

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" Ranma complained aloud to Nabiki, the brunette busily affixing various baubles and plates to the antiquated Chinese fatigues that Mid "science" insisted were his "barrier jacket." What difference did it make, that he spun clothes out of magic now? They were _clothes_.

"Yes," she responded tiredly, as if repeating something for the hundredth time, "It lets us-"

"Keep track of who hits whom, where, when, and how hard. I _know_; I designed the damn thing. It doesn't do magic," he interrupted peevishly.

"It does now, Master!" An energetic cyborg with long purple hair, clad in a tank top and sweat pants, bounced lightly on her toes. "Master isn't the only one who knows how to make new things! Nabiki-sempai took what you made, and now it does magic!" She beamed broadly at the brunette, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Nabiki-sempai?" the young man asked, amused. "She's younger than you are right now, Ginga. Why are you calling her sempai?"

"Sempai has been with you the longest," the cyborg explained, still bouncing.

He digested that, watching her... bounce. "Why are you so excited, anyway?"

"Because everyone is always saying that Captain Takamichi is the strongest," Ginga scowled, "and now, Master can finally kick her ass and show everyone who's really the strongest!"

"Damn nine-ball," Nabiki muttered, hiding a flushing face by busily working her way down to Ranma's trousers, kneeling to improve her angle.

The sudden change got Ginga's attention, and she squealed excitedly. "Ooh, Sempai feels that way about Master too? Can I join in?" She skipped forward and put her hands on the other woman's shoulders, bending forward just enough to let the Archivist see down her tank top. "Subaru will be so jealous!"

Nabiki sighed greatly, slumping and hanging her head, and Ranma palmed his face. "Ginga!" he snapped, "Would it kill you to act your age and rank?"

The young woman pouted, crossing her arms under her chest. "But it's been so long since Ginga has had her Master. Is it really so wrong for her to want to be with him?" She ducked her head, the better to look at him through her eyelashes, eyes glistening with unshed tears. When he did not answer immediately, she demanded, "Is it," a little hitch in her voice.

"No, of course not," he said, looking away uncomfortably.

"Damn, she's good," Nabiki muttered under her breath, fastening one of the plates to his shin.

"Huh?" Ranma blinked.

"I said, 'lift your foot," she lied.

"Is Master angry with his Ginga?" the named girl asked, watery eyes still trained on Ranma.

"Of course not. You're a good student-"

"Ginga is a good girl?"

"Yes," he sighed, "Ginga is a good girl. Now, will you please-"

"Pet me," the cyborg commanded.

"Huh?" He blinked.

"Pet Ginga," she elaborated. "On her head. Of course, if Master wants to pet his Ginga elsewhere..." She blushed delicately, shooting a coy glance his way, forearms lifting her assets and turning slightly.

"No, your head's fine," he said hurriedly, placing an uncertain hand on her head.

She chuckled, glowing healthily.

Nabiki turned to look up at the other woman. "That... that is weird," she declared quietly. Turning back to Ranma's other shin, she sniffed, and then froze. Taking a deeper breath, she looked at her "kohai" and shrugged before again turning to her equipment. "Whatever works for her, I guess," she muttered, shrugging. "Freak."

The cyborg ignored the comments, instead focusing on her Master's praise.

"Other foot," Nabiki directed, tapping the inside of his ankle. "And… there. Now, hate to break up the love-fest, but I need to get up to the recording booth and figure out if Subaru's done with our boss yet." She snorted. "That munchkin had the general idea right, but she has no idea how to do it. It's like teaching a baby."

"Munchkin?" the older girl wondered, looking to her teacher for clarification as the Looper walked off.

"Yagami Vita of the Wolkenritter- the redhead with the hammer."

Ginga's face scrunched up. "I thought you meant Captain Takamachi."

"Well, she is, too- but no. Why don't you go see Subaru? It's been a while since you've seen her, hasn't it? I need to finish up, anyway."

"Okay!" Grinning, the purple-haired young woman strutted off.

"Why is she always like that?" he wondered, shaking his head at the retreating figure. "I don't think I'll ever understand women. Now, this is magic-only, so let's see…"

"Hello, Subaru," the long-haired woman said some few minutes later.

"Big sister!" the younger cyborg cried out, abandoning her brunette charge and attempting to run head-first into the older one's chest.

Attempting, because Ginga did something, and why did she have a faceful of DFC?

"Now, Subaru, you know those belong to Master." Was this supposed to be funny? Why did she sound like she was trying not to laugh?

After a quick grope and a indignant squeal, Subaru spun around the living barrier and went low. Ginga did whatever it was again, and after a blissful moment of soft, round firmness, was face down in the dirt.

"Stupid pervy cyborgs," Nanoha huffed, dusting off her hands. "Put me down, she snapped, glaring back over her shoulder. Shrugging unrepentantly, the sergeant obeyed, dropping the loli on said pervert's back.

After a surprised squawk, Subaru looked up at her tormentor sadly. "Ginga! Why are you so mean to me?" she whined.

"You know the rules, little sister," the older temptress declared implacably. "This," she continued, running her hands down her sides, "is all Master's."

Subaru's whining "But it's not _FAIR_!" was overridden by a growled "And just who is this 'master' of yours, girl?"

She switched her gaze to Nanoha, who was, if anything, even more pissed. At least, judging by her voice; since she was still standing on Subaru's back, the teen was hardly in a position to tell. "Master is Ranma-sensei, of course. You're saying it wrong," she added critically. "You have to pronounce the uppercase 'M.'"

She may have been fairly obviously ignored by the person to whom she was speaking, but she was hardly going to let a little thing like the Ace bursting into a pink-and-black lightshow slow her down. "Come on, Captain, say it with me: 'Ma-'"

Only reflexes honed by years of Ranma's training allowed her to avoid the haphazard staff strike, skipping back and away.

"Ranma Scrya!" the munchkin bellowed with a voice far too large for her frame, stalking off Subaru by way of her spine and past Ginga.

"I may have overdone that," Ginga admitted.

Her sister stared at her incredulously. "You did that on _purpose_?"

"Of course. I want her to have no excuese for losing when Master kicks her butt."

"You don't think that her being too angry to fight with any kind of strategy wouldn't be an excuse?"

While the sergeant mulled that over, the tiny brunette roared, "Ranma Scrya! For toying with young maidens' hearts, breaking up my harem instead of joining it, and not having sex with me, prepare to die!"

"She has a harem?" Ginga asked. Subaru just sighed.

Two layers of binds and some whispered threats later, the fight was almost ready to begin.

Nabiki strode to the center of the ring, microphone in hand. "Hello and welcome, ladies and gentlemen," she began in her best announcer voice, "to the first ever Riot Force Six exhibition match! Our match for the day is the Ace of Aces, Takamachi Nanoha, versus the Keeper of the Infinite Archive, Ranma Scrya!" A giant Street Fighter-esque fight poster appeared high in the air above her, giant portraits divided on a diagonal with a "vs" in the middle. "Make your bets now, ladies and gents! This promises to be a match for the ages!"

Nobody moved.

After a minute, the teen sighed. "Cheapskates." Into the mic, she continued cheerily, "Well, since nobody's betting, let's get this show on the road! In this corner-" she pointed to the tied-up Nanoha, far to stage left- "we have the Ace of Aces, the White Devil, the Littlest Demon herself, Cap~tain Takamachi Nanoha!"

The crowd roared appropriately.

"And in this corner," she pointed to stage right, switching her hands on the mic to do so, "we have the keeper of secrets, the thousandfold man, who defeated the Book of Darkness singlehandedly, Ran~ma Scrya!"

Ginga's lone squeal of "Kick her butt, Master!" was clearly audible in the wake of _that_ uncomfortable reminder. As one, a massive section of the crowd stood.

Nabiki grinned viciously. "At this point, I'd like to remind the spectators that, per Mid-Childian and Cranagan law, all betting is final upon the introduction of the opponents."

They sat back down.

The squealing and struggling from Nanoha's corner intensified again.

"This match is based on a point system. Each successful attack, as counted by our special detection system, is worth one point; captures and disables will be worth two. Should one opponent incapacitate the other, the match will end immediately."

She looked up at the crowd. "Our commentators for the day are Captain Fate Testarossa Harlaown and Lieutenant Yagami Signum of Lightning Squad." The overhead screen displayed a real-time feed of the two commentators, Fate waving gently and Signum sitting stoically. "Our judge is Admiral Chrono Harlaown." Unlike the women, Chrono held his head in his hands, as if wondering how he had been dragged into this. The announcer kicked herself up into the air and towards the commentators' seats, allowing the first few rows a quick glance at her bike shorts. "And now!" she announced, "Fight!"

The orange and green bands on Nanoha disappeared, and she immediately took to the air, Raising Heart changing to shooting mode. Ranma, on the other hand, stayed on the ground, hands in his pockets.

"This match should be fairly interesting," Fate said into the microphone. "Nano… er, Captain Takamichi, is rated at SS-plus and has an Intelligent Device, while Ran- uh, Mister Scrya does not, and has never been fully evaluated, but is suspected to have a capacity of at least S-plus. He has also innovated a number of new support spells, to include his famous _fylgjaur_."

"He is also extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat," Signum noted. "Unfortunately, we will not be seeing that today."

Nanoha launched a ten-round salvo of (relatively) tiny pink orbs. "Axel Shooter," Fate identified the spell. "At this point, they should be just sounding each other out."

The orbs spiraled down to form a wheel around the pigtailed young man, and he raised an eyebrow at them before looking up at his airborne foe. She smirked, and they spun into a blur. As a second, and then a third, salvo spun themselves into place at sixty degrees off the horizontal, he held his position.

"An excellent example of control," Fate praised her partner. "She's using her Device, Raising Heart, to the fullest."

In an obvious display of showmanship, the tiny brunette raised one hand, letting her opponent get a good look at it- and then clenched it into a fist.

There was a flash- pink and olive drab and the brown-red of old blood- and Ranma stood where he had been, unscuffed and unmoved but for his left arm. It was locked out at the shoulder, and from it dangled a dully glowing net of power.

The part that got the crowd's attention, though, were the brilliant pink orbs inside.

"That should not be possible," Signum murmured as Nabiki surged to the commentator's desk, seizing one of the technicians.

"What are they saying?" she hissed. "Get a mike on them!"

The frightened tech made a quick series of gestures, bringing up a holo-keyboard, and typed a few keys.

"-nk that'd work? I mean, really?"

"You weren't moving!" the girl accused. "And you can't do that!"

He looked at her oddly. "Why not? It's just a reversed shield."

"Shields don't work that way!" she insisted.

Signum put one hand over her microphone and leaned over to Fate. "Have they eaten Shamal's cooking?"

"Says who?" the man asked his opponent.

That stumped her, and as she floated there, mouth hanging open, he exclaimed, "An opening!" and threw the shield-bag at her.

She blinked at the noise, and it blew up. "Yuuno never used them that way," she told the dust seriously, as if nothing had happened.

"If you hadn't noticed, I'm not Yuuno," he grunted, backflipping out of the cloud and into the air. "Were you trying to kill me or something?"

"I _know_! You're just a meanie who won't have sex with me! And you would've been fine. You survived a night with Fate, after all."

The crowd's attention switched from the fight to the incandescently glowing blonde, completely ignoring both the wail of "Master!" from within their midst and the grinding sound from the judge's box. The blonde, for her part, found her lap extremely interesting, and Signum patted her shoulder. "There, there, Testarossa, you can punish it later."

"I don't ge-" Ranma began after a minute.

"An opening!" the Ace parroted, blasting him with a massive pink beam.

His figure was overwhelmed for a moment, and vaguely-formed static came from his audio pickup. A spiraling web of lines traced its way back along the massive beam, detonating on Nanoha's barrier jacket. It did no visible damage, but did manage to interrupt the beam.

"Cheap shot!" he decried, ribbons of smoke trailing away.

"You just did it!" the Captain snapped back.

"Well, if you wanna be like that," he growled. "*I call the light of Heaven down upon my foes!" he chanted, hands and feet tracing delicate patterns in the air.

"Hey, that's _my_ spell!" Nanoha objected. "Raising Heart!"

"_Yes, Master_," it chimed.

Signum shot to her feet. "Shamal! Zafira! Arf!" she shouted, snatching up her microphone. "Shields at full power!"

"All hands, defensive positions!" Fate added, taking her own advice and hiding under the desk. The audience just sprawled everywhere, frequently overlapping.

"*Stars, gather in my hand, and become the light that pierces everything! Tear through everything in a flash of light!*" Ranma incanted, a massive ball of energy gathering before him.

But it was Nanoha who finished it first, empty shells and magazines bouncing as they hit the ground. "_Starlight Breaker_!" she bellowed, catching Ranma's beam as the orb began to burst. The waves of magic struggled against each other, neither seeming to make headway.

Despite all prior experience, the combatants were extremely surprised when it exploded.

[hr]

It was Nabiki who took the first chance. She had been hiding behind Subaru, offering her a triple layer of protection- the cyborg was hiding behind her panicky big sister.

Some things never changed, it seemed.

She sighed mournfully at the steaming water where their brand new training ground had been. It was followed by a happy one on noting the two forms face-down in it, a winged ferret and what appeared to be a nude brunette, floating a hundred meters apart. All that money…

She rapped her partner on the back of her head. "It's over now. Go get them." The Nakajima sisters instantly perked up and hurried down to their idols. "What did I do with that mike?" she wondered absently, quickly sweeping her gaze over the stands. It looked like the barriers had held; they were still there, after all, and nobody was screaming, so they were fine, unconscious or dead. One out of three for not being sued was good, right?

Spotting her fallen microphone, she scooped it up and tapped on it to make sure it still worked. When it did, she cleared her throat noisily. "Will Admiral Harlaown and Lieutenant Yagami Vita please report to the front. You're safe now," she added belatedly. "You can resume your normal positions at this time."

This was accompanied by many a ringing cry of "pervert" and the sound of flesh-on-flesh. Had more of them been female, the brunette thought absently, Akane would have been proud.

Vita arrived first. "Look through the bets," the private directed. "See who bet on a double K-O within…" She made a quick series of gestures and frowned at the resulting screen. "I can't understand... Cross Mirage?"

"_Three to five minutes_," it responded.

"That. They are both unconscious, aren't they?" she asked Chrono as he stumbled up.

"How would I know? I just got here." He scowled at her.

"Well, go check, already, that's your job, isn't it?" She turned her back on the spluttering officer and shouted at the cyborgs, "Hey! Molest them later! Get your butts back here- and bring them! I see what you're trying to do, Subaru! You're in public! Knock it off and wrap her in a towel or something!"

"_What the he_- What in the world just happened?" an irate silver-haired woman demanded as she swooped in, brown uniform skirt traded out for sensible pants.

"They're out," Chrono concluded loudly after a cursory examination, turning back to the announcer. "Can I go now?"

Ginga tucked something down her top, trying her hardest to be inconspicuous.

"Sure," Nabiki said, waving the man off, more focused on the angry NCO than the fleeing admiral. "Captain Little and Ranma here blew each other up."

"Captain Li- _Use her title and name correctly_!" Reinforce scolded. "She is your superior officer! Captain Taka..." She trailed off. "What did you do to my brand-new practice field! Captain Takamachi! Mister Scrya!"

"They seem to be unconscious," Signum noted, sticking her head out from under the desk, not a hair out of place. She crawled out and stood, nonchalantly knocking some nonexistent dust off of her knees. "Well, that thing is," she amended, looking downrange. "I do not see Scrya."

"He's unconscious," Ginga provided, blushing when the group looked at her. "Trust me, I'd know."

"Whatever," the gunner grunted after a moment. "Vi- ah, Lieutenant," she corrected herself, casting a wary eye in her superintendant's direction, "are you done with the bets yet?"

"Gimme a minute," the redhead growled back.

Subaru finally arrived, and set her captain down on top of the desk. "She's heavier than she looks," she noted.

"Yes," Fate agreed immediately, still under her part of the desk.

Signum frowned down at her. "You should come out from there. It is not as if it were a closet, for you to hide in."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the blonde snapped, not moving.

"The spectators can still see you," the knight pointed out.

The teenager squeaked and rolled out from under the desk. Unlike Signum, she _was_ slightly mussed, and spent a moment fussing over her appearance before moving onto her towel-wrapped partner. For her part, Reinforce began growling angrily about such subjects as "appropriate conduct" and "upholding the image of the Service."

"Where's Ranma?" she asked after a minute, satisfied that Nanoha was merely unconscious.

Ginga blushed some more, but before anyone could question her, Vita announced, "Only one. Here." She flicked the relevant screen along to her cohort.

"Sorry Sergeant, got business to attend to," the brunette interrupted the spluttering woman's incipient rant. "Attention in the audience, attention in the audience. The word from our judge is that it was a double K-O, at four minutes and thirty-seven seconds. There was one bettor on this outcome, a double knockout at five minutes or less; at one-to-eight hundred odds, Yagami Kasu... the hell?" She took a closer look at the screen. "Yagami Kasumi." She swallowed as the crowd began to mutter angrily. "I do assure you, she began hurriedly, "that this will be investigated in accordance with Mid-Childian and Cranagan gambling law. In the meantime, all other winners, please hold on to your ticket stubs, and winning accounts will be posted in the local papers..."

Reinforce stole the microphone. "Now _go home_." Rather than deal with the faintly glowing woman, the crowd dispersed. "Not you," she commanded the Section Six members on site. "_You_ get to come with me to explain this to the Commander.

"Shamal! Arf! Zafira! I know you're up there, get down here!" she shouted into the microphone, and turned back to the group, running an evil eye over them and pausing briefly on the unconscious Nanoha. "Where is Scrya?"

"I am taking care of him," Ginga said, blushing again.

"Is that so," the sergeant major murmured, running a critical eye over her and stopping at bust level.

The teen's blush deepened. "It is."

The Unison Device held out one hand. "Give."

Ginga's hands went to her chest. "But-"

"_Give_," the older woman commanded insistently.

The cyborg sighed and began fishing down her tank top, eventually pulling out one comatose ferret and dropping him in the older NCO's hands. "What?" she defended herself, blushing under the combined gaze of those present. "He's in shock. People in shock need to be kept warm, right?"

"You normally do that with a blanket, not your tits," Vita quipped.

"You're just jealous," Ginga sniffed, folding her arms under the named assets and lifting slightly.

The redhead scowled. "You did _not_ just go there."

"Stop," Reinforce snapped, "Stop it now. We've already had one fight today. We do not need to be discussing the Sergeant's inappropriate choices in first aid here. Now fall in- the lot of you are _marching_ back to Headquarters to explain this to Colonel Yagami.

"And to give her her winnings, of course. Zafira! Arf! I see you! Human form, fall in! Lanster, this is your fault, you get to carry Captain Takamachi!"

* * *

Reinforce shepherded the group into the Commander of Riot Force Six's office, closing and sealing the door behind her; the lock triggered with a final _click_. She unceremoniously dropped Ranma, apparently still unconscious, on her mistress's desk and took up a position by the door. Kasumi herself was staring out the window, standing at parade rest. "Oh, dear," the brunette said once they had all lined up, "that is the second training ground you have destroyed in three months. It has been quite a while since Ranma broke anything of mine, though. I thought I had him trained right." She turned to them, pouting briefly, and then pursed her lips. "I do still have some of those Instant Jusenkyo packets we picked up from our last trip on Earth. Perhaps I should give him some time with my second favorite horsey?"

Reinforce's face twitched.

The brunette's gaze next rested on Nanoha, still riding piggyback on Nabiki. "Please put Captain Takamachi down, Nabiki."

The gunner winced. "She's still kind of…"

"Well, wake her up, then."

The private sighed and squatted, gently bouncing her captain. "C'mon, it's time to wake up. Fate and Ranma are ready for you…"

"'M awake," the brunette mumbled, scrubbing at her eyes. "Where…" She took in the office, and then her state of (un)dress before giggling nervously. "Um… I won, didn't I?" she asked, drawing the towel tighter.

"A draw," Signum corrected her.

"Oh, pooh," she pouted. "Where's Ranma?"

Kasumi cleared her throat and indicated her desk.

"Ha! I won! I woke up first!"

"Oh, but he was awake when he came in," the commander mused. "Surely, then, he won?"

"But he's just lying there!" the tiny nineteen year old objected, pointing accusingly at the still form.

"Too still," Kasumi, Signum, Vita, Nabiki, Reinforce, Ginga and Subaru all said at once. The group looked at the younger cyborg, Signum even raising an eyebrow, and the girl blushed lightly.

"Shamal," Kasumi directed, "could you please take Nanoha here and make sure she is dressed as befits her? Remember, she has been a very bad girl."

The blonde squealed and pounced, dragging the struggling Nanoha to an adjoining room. A final "Fate, help me!" echoed despairingly through the room, and the door slammed shut.

Fate did not so much as move a muscle, keeping her eyes fixed firmly forward.

"Are you going to get up, or should I call Shamal back? She has some new things for you, too. And there are always those packets…" Nothing happened, and the brunette frowned. Opening a drawer, she reached in and produced a pen. She tapped it on the desk next to his head, and when nothing happened, she poked his belly.

The ferret exploded in a dark red cloud of smoke. Reinforce scrambled for the door, and as soon as it was open, it began boiling down the hall.

"What the heck was that?" Reinforce coughed, glaring at the three more experienced women as they came stumbling out.

Nabiki shook her head. "I don't know. It looked like a smoke bomb, but the fire system isn't going off…" The sirens and sprinklers finally triggered. "Never mind," she grumbled, wiping her eyes. "Any of you know how to create a rain shield?"

Subaru shrugged. "It's easy, you just-"

"Drop the explanation, and _what the hell did Ranma do_?" the platinum-blonde woman growled.

"I told you, I _don't know_!" the brunette private shouted back.

"Watch your tone!" the Device yelled.

"EVACUATE!" Signum roared. "Chew her out later!"

Reinforce blinked, suddenly realizing just what was going on. She sighed and pushed back her shoulders. "Everyone, outside. I'll make sure the commander's coming."

"What about Nanoha and Shamal?" Fate asked, looking relatively tiny, pathetic, and drenched. "They're still in there."

"They'll be fine," Vita growled. "Now, out!" At some point, she had produced Graf Eisen, and she used it to herd the rest of the group down the hall. "Shamal, shouldn't you call emergency services? Let them know what the hell happened?" Vita's voice faded as they went, finally drowned out as they turned into a stairwell.

Grinning irritably, the woman stepped back into the room. The Colonel was slumped against the windows, unconscious. Reinforce checked her front side over carefully before pulling her away from the window to look at her back. Nothing seemed to be wrong…

"Ah," Kasumi murmured. "Reinforce. Ranma went boom."

Reinforce blinked. "Yes, Mistress. Yes, he did."

"Reinforce was here, and Ranma was a ferret so Reinforce put him on the desk and then Ranma went _boom_ and I was against the window and then Reinforce was here," the brunette rambled.

"Yes, mistress, I know. I think we're going to have to get your head examined."

"Oh, no, I'm quite well, I just don't remember what I did with my pen."

"I'm sure we'll find it later." Pieces of it, anyway; there were ink stains on her coat and blouse.

"But I don't _wanna_," Nanoha's voice interrupted.

The Device blinked. Had they not noticed..? "Mistress, did you soundproof that room?"

"I dunno~… I'm tired, Reinforce. I want to take a nap…"

"No, Mistress, stay awake until we can have a doctor look at you. Shamal's just next door." She sighed; she'd have to bring it up later, after they were all out of the building. "Just stay here a moment, and don't go to sleep."

She stood and made her way over to the other door. This would take quite a bit of cleaning; Kasumi's chairs were all over the place. Oh, well, another thing to have their little forwards do to make up for this fiasco…

"Shamal," she shouted, banging on the door, "get out here! Kasumi's hurt!"

"I will be right out," Shamal reassured her through the closed door.

"Shamal, we need to leave! Now!"

"I can get dressed myself!" Nanoha whined.

"Shamal, I'm coming in!"

Nanoha was half-dressed, fending the blonde off with a stuffed horse-head on a broom stick. "But Nanoha, it has to be just right," the doctor complained, waving a red piece of fabric in one hand.

"I _don't care_!" the munchkin snapped. "And what's this here for?"

"It's Mistress's second-favorite horse," Reinforce grumbled. "Circle her around so I can get at her, Captain," she directed.

Nanoha blinked over her shoulder, and the distraction gave Shamal the opening to pull it over her head before getting stuck on her arms and shoulders. Reinforce sighed and reached over the pair to grab the Knight of the Lake by the back of her collar. "What part of 'Kasumi is hurt' did you not hear?" she growled.

"I'm sorry, is that what you were saying? I could not hear you over these sirens. What turned them on, anyway?"

"Talk later," the Device snapped. "You!" She turned on the tiny Ace, who flinched and scrunched down on herself like a kicked puppy. "… You know what? I'll chew _you_ out later, too. Get dressed, and then get out."

"But the outfit-" Shamal tried.

"Fix it later. You're coming with me to see Kasumi."

* * *

Reinforce sighed and looked at the retreating back of the fire marshal. She could not believe it had taken this long for them to understand that it was a false alarm. Sure, safety first and all, but three hours was ridiculous. "Couldn't they just check the alarm panels?" she mumbled and turned to look back at the building. At least some medics had shown up to take Kasumi to the hospital to be checked; Vita was going with her, and Shamal would be leaving shortly. Ginga Nakajima headed to the Library, to check on Ranma.

"At least nothing was seriously damaged this time," she sighed. "He's still going to pay for this, though."

She turned her eyes on the forwards. "And you lot… Go home. I'm too tired to deal with you now."

Nanoha raised her hand. "Um, can I have something else to wear?"

Reinforce raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with what you're wearing?"

"It _doesn't have a bodice_, that's what! I don't want my belly button on display!" Her hands snapped back down to cover that little piece of anatomy.

Nabiki sighed. "I don't care. I'm going home. See you tomorrow."

"I think it's cute," Subaru offered.

"You coming or not?" Nabiki grumbled.

"Fine, fine, I'm coming. See you tomorrow, Captain."

"It'd be fine if you wore it right," Shamal sniffed, seeming to make a point of not looking at her.

"My hair's fine as it is, and I had to knot the back so that it wouldn't fall off," the tiny brunette snarled. "What part of this did you think was going to fit?"

"Well, she got your hips right, at least," Fate tried to comfort her.

"Hips! I don't _have_ hips!" the loli snarled.

"Nanoha, please calm down…"

"I don't _want_ to be calm! He screwed up the auction, and we just blew up the training grounds- again! At this rate, what if we don't meet Vivio?"

"I'm sure Vivio's fine," Fate sighed.

"But we haven't seen or heard anything, and we always-" the girl began.

"Only if she's awake," the blonde cut her off. "Are you going to let Shamal finish dressing you?"

"No. It's bad enough as it is."

"You know," Signum murmured, "you could just use your barrier jacket."

The brunette blinked.

"Do you not have somewhere to be?" she suggested to Shamal.

The short-haired blonde followed in the tiny captain's steps. "I do?"

"The hospital," Signum pointed out. "You _are_ Mistress's primary physician. And you." She sighed and shook her head at Reinforce. "You and I are going home. You need to relax."

"I have too much to do! Mistress Kasumi is in the hospital, I have to look after the forwards, and the paperwork- the _paperwork_!- and deal with _Ranma_-"

"Sergeant Nakajima is taking care of Ranma, and Vita is taking care of the forwards. The paperwork will wait- you cannot get at it until the building is repaired, anyway. Mistress will be home as soon as they finish running tests on her. She will need to rest, and she will not be able to if you are out, running all over the place."

Reinforce gaped. "But-"

"We are _going home_, Sergeant Major. Now."

The blonde scrunched in on herself. "Fine…"

* * *

There was a small cafe across the way from the Infinite Library. It had been there for almost thirty years now, and had been intended more as a "family diner" than anything else, since back then only desperate people tried to find stuff in there. Well, that and the maintenance crews, but they usually did not stay to eat. When Mister Scrya had settled in and shaped the Archive up to the point that you could actually find what you were looking for without wading through sixty years of accumulated un-filed paperwork, the owner had figured that it was the start of a new era for the district. They would need people to run the place, after all- it was too big a job for one man and a familiar. The workers would have to live somewhere, and not many people wanted to live too far away from where they worked.

She was completely wrong.

Nobody had predicted his "illusion-clones," or the speed with which the "maintenance crews" were dealt. It had made for interesting times, since the whole social order of the area had been overturned. The cafe still got most of its custom from the dinner rush. The Librarian himself even dropped by once a week or so- at least, she was pretty sure it was him. She had never seen one of the illusion-clones eat, at any rate, so she was almost positive that it was him. She did get more people during the day now, but those were mostly people watching the Library, trying to get in, or both. And the occasional researcher who _had_ managed to get in, but those were rare. No, most of the Ground Forces Inspectors were extremely obvious and uncomfortable in academic suits and ties. The occasional one that _was_ comfortable was always some sort of analyst here doing their token field assignment and also bought something more than tea and snacks.

She had disabused them rather rapidly of the idea of bringing their own lunches.

Currently, they were sipping on cold tea and staring at the one sweeping the Library steps. This was not terribly uncommon; even government offices had to clean up after themselves. Nobody had seen a cleaning van outside the place in almost ten years, and anyone who asked the Librarian- or one of his smarter clones, assuming that one could tell the difference- would be told as much.

The Librarian might call them "shadow clones," "chakra constructs," and "fylgjur," but when he started talking like that, everyone just translated as "new way to use magic."

It had taken most of those ten years for the more thaumaturgically inclined to admit that this was not the case.

The army still had not.

As the clone knelt to sweep up its dust-pile, a series of brownish-red shapes superimposed themselves over it. There was an inrush of air, a cloud of sidewalk debris that was pulled up with it, and a dirty ferret that belly-flopped the last two feet into what was left.

After a minute, it pulled itself to its feet and sighed before beginning the seemingly Herculean task of climbing the stairs. It chirruped at the door, and a mail flap opened.

One of the observers, an official looking blonde, shook her head as it scrabbled up the front door to the slot. It had to have been a familiar, even if there was not anything about it in the Archivist's profile. Maybe it was new.

Real animals didn't curse, after all.

* * *

By now, and especially after all of the transformation magic he had used, Ranma figured that a simple change of form should not give him any problems. This particular one, for whatever reason, was an absolute pain in the ass.

It just felt weird, like there was a switch on it. With his curse, he would have had to fight it, twist it to his will, not simply throw a mental toggle. There had to be something wrong with it. It was just too painless. One of these days, he would just have to take the time to figure out what. With any luck, that would be before it bit him in the ass. After a moment's contemplation, he opened his eyes to the dark, quiet, and empty Library. Just like always.

He paused and revisited that last thought; there was something wrong with it. "Hey, you gonna turn on the lights or not?" he complained loudly, working up a mage-light while he impatiently tapped his foot, waiting for a settings window to appear.

Nothing. Not even a clone popping up to tell him what was going on.

That was the problem; no clones, dark, and the security Device not responding meant, all taken together, that something Bad had happened. He sorted through his most recent memories- a clone in ferret-form unraveling on Kasumi's desk, and a wave of surprise.

How had he missed that?

"Fuck," he grunted to himself, and started working his way to the command center, popping off two pair of _fylgja_ and one of shadow clones to check for damage- and intruders.

* * *

"Hey, you lot, time for chow!" one of the pair of guards yelled, slamming his baton on the door-frames as he made his way down the cell block. "Get'cher crazy asses out here!"

He grinned maliciously, staring through the glowing barrier that kept them away. "Not following orders, eh?" he growled, free hand slipping up to a stud on his uniform blouse.

"Leave it be," his partner sighed, setting out the trays of food on the long table. "They can't do anything until we're out of here, anyway." She began taking plastic cups from her cart, filling them from a pitcher. She eyed her partner irritably; at the best of times, he was an absolute ass. The only reason he was working in this wing was because he was- supposedly- flamingly, flamboyantly gay. That and a sexual sadist. He had no business supervising men, but he was supposed to be too good at this to just let leave. Maybe she should ask the shrink to take another look at him. The second quality might be a more significant factor than the first. He enjoyed the button too much.

"Shut up, the first guard, a tall, lanky brunet that was really not all that bad looking- nothing to rival the Doctor, of course, but still not bad- snapped. "They ain't obeying orders, that means they're breaking the rules."

His partner, a short, dumpy woman with sandy blonde hair, shook her head. "They won't be in there forever, you know. Someone who can barely use the baton really shouldn't taunt thugs that much stronger than they are."

"I can use the baton just fine," the man snarled.

"Right," the woman snorted. "That's why you use that damn button so often. It doesn't use your power, so it doesn't matter how little you have." She set out the last cup and began pushing her cart to the exit. "You going to open the door before I do and lock you in with them?"

His eyes went wide. "You wouldn't!"

"Don't push me," she snapped. "People can only be pushed so hard. You never know when they're going to push back."

He almost ran to the door, and she suppressed a smile. Uno, in her cell, nodded slightly. She kept pushing the cart forward, stopping it in the door.

"Like now," the female guard said, setting her right hand on the man's back as she passed him. He stiffened as three long metallic claws shot out his chest. "My sisters thank you for their upkeep, but they have to go now.

"Besides," she said, "you've been mean to my sisters. That's not allowed." She smiled beneficently as she pulled them part-way out, and frowned as she groped inside him. A bit of blood dribbled from his lips. "Oh, that was a lung, wasn't it. That means it should be just about... Ah!" The "guard" made a twisting gesture, accompanied by a larger spatter of blood. Pulling her hand out, she held a twitching gobbet of meat. "This should make up for everything you did to them. Especially my poor little Quattro." Her smile took on a somewhat vicious cast. "The Doctor's calling, and it wouldn't do to keep him waiting."

* * *

Omake by Nanya and ringlhach

Ranma: So, if we're going to keep them from catching you, we're going to want to get you as strong as possible.  
Vivio: I'm already pretty strong...  
Ranma: Not nearly strong enough. Even Nanoha's stronger than you.  
Vivio: Of course Nanoha-mama's... wait, what do you mean even Nanoha-mama?  
Ranma: She's the only one I haven't trained since I've been here. Lilith's worked with her some, but it's not the same.  
Vivio: Who's Lilith?  
Ranma: Oh, don't worry, you'll meet her eventually. _(looks at Vivio consideringly_) Hm. Bakusai Tenketsu first, I think. Stay still while I tie you up.  
Vivio: I need an adult.  
Ranma: I am an adult!

* * *

A/Ns

I've been sitting on most of this for close to a year and a half now... I just couldn't get that last scene right. I still don't know if it is.

Yes, there are Noodle Incidents regarding what happened to Lindy. Nanya's written a scene, available in the TFF Lemon section somewhere. And no, I'm not going to post it.

Male guarding women: yes, I know, in the real world, it doesn't happen. This isn't the real world, and I tried to justify that to fit my sensibilities in the story.


End file.
